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Hillman: Putting fans in the Carrier Dome this fall would be reckless

Director of Athletics John Wildhack and Syracuse are planning to fill the Carrier Dome with fans, to some degree, this fall. But they’re making a huge mistake.

Even with possible precautions, like blue and orange Syracuse-themed masks or temperature checks, fans could be asymptomatic and spread the coronavirus.

“We are anticipating and planning for reduced capacity to some degree for football season,” Wildhack said in a May 28 email to season ticket holders.

Wildhack’s comments aren’t surprising. College football is a business at its core, and its main priority is to make money. For Power 5 teams, football ticketing accounts for 14% of a public school athletic department’s annual revenue, according to a 2017-18 study from the S.