College programs hurt themselves by cancelling spring games
Published 5:15 am Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Last weekend, at Texas A&M’s Maroon & White Spring Game, Aggie linebacker Daymion Stanford injured his left foot just before halftime.
When asked about it, A&M head coach Mike Elko said they never considered cancelling the contest, despite the injury offering him ample opportunity to do so, correctly surmising that injuries could occur during any point in practice.
For now, it looks as though the annual Aggie Spring Game will roll on. Not the case for many Power 4 programs around the country. LSU opted out of having a spring game, denying fans an opportunity to get a first look at how the Bayou Bengals will look under the ballyhooed new head coach, Lane Kiffin. His excuse?
“You’re basically giving people evaluations of your players, especially the newer ones and how they’re doing. The financial piece of how much you’re investing in (players) now…and looking at the big picture of that, I just feel like it’s not worth it.”
Texas, USC, Nebraska, and Florida State are also among the programs that have canceled spring games in recent years. Imagine spending $40 million on a roster and being afraid to share it with your fanbase due to paranoia.
Last year’s excuse from colleges for not having a spring game was fear of players leaving during the additional transfer period in the spring. That transfer period has been eliminated so there should be no reason for a program not to share their team with its fans.
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These will be the same coaches complaining this fall about how nobody shows up to the game and that fans are not engaged. If you happen to hear this from a program, politely point them to March and April, when they refused to let fans see their practices and scrimmages. It may not seem like a big deal, but the spring period is one of the few offseason chances to rejuvenate and reconnect with fanbases across the country, dialing them in for the rest of the calendar year.
This is not the pros, where the NFL Draft, OTAs, and preseason all serve as offseason check-in points for football-starved fans. If programs don’t care to show them anything in spring, then why should they expect any interest come autumn?
This is especially true during the NIL and transfer era of college football. With so many new faces on teams each year, wouldn’t it make sense to help fans get to know these guys early and often? Gone are the days when players would remain on a roster for three to four seasons. You got to know them as the years went on. That’s no longer the case.
It’s imperative to get fans caring about these guys each year and offseason events like a spring game go a long way in accomplishing that goal. With so many spring games cancelled, is it any wonder that fans feel disconnected to their teams?
So have that spring game, college football programs. Each practice and scrimmage is a chance to endear yourself to a fanbase that is hungry for you.
Lane Fobbs is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate. Drop him a line on Twitter/X @fobbstalkinball