As collegiate athletic departments have already suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses due to the coronavirus, a lot hinges on the 2020 college football season.

As the logistics of how college athletics will resume continue to be worked out, one thing is clear: the loss of the 2020 college football season would be incredibly costly.

According to a report from ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Paula Lavigne, a canceled college football season would result in a $4 billion loss for college athletic programs across the country. This would add to an already significant toll that the coronavirus pandemic has wrought on college athletics, as programs have lost hundreds of millions so far.

“If there’s no football season, or if football season is interrupted or shortened, there will be a massive fallout,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said to ESPN. “There would have to be massive cutbacks. Could the department go