The Florida State football season is scheduled to start on Sept.12 against Georgia Tech. That's been established and seems to be becoming more and more of a reality every day.

As for the No. 2 and No. 3 most popular sports on the FSU campus?

No one has any real idea when they will take place and what those seasons will look like, as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus.

FSU baseball coach Mike Martin Jr. and associate head basketball coach Stan Jones both said on Wednesday that they've heard rumors about what might happen with their respective sports -- they've heard possibilities of regionalized schedules or even "bubbles" -- but nothing is close to certain.

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Not even as to when they'll actually be able to practice.

"I don't know," Martin Jr. said. "Literally, nobody knows. Some schools are practicing right now, some schools started practicing and then were shut down, and then some are like us, and we haven't gotten going."

Typically, the Florida State baseball team would be in the midst of fall practice right now. That's not happening. There is no coaching or instruction allowed.

Martin Jr. said they pull the weights from the weight room and let the players work out outdoors. And the Seminoles can hit grounders to each other and get work in the batting cages. But they all have to wear masks, and they all have to be socially distant.

As for basketball, Jones said the rules are the same right now as they would be in any other year. There are eight hours each week a player can spend in official workouts with the team: Four are for weight training and conditioning, and four are for on-court instruction.

So each player is getting four hour-long instruction sessions per week. And in that way, things are like normal for this time of year. What's not normal is they have to get tested for COVID-19 weekly, they get their temperatures checked daily, and they also have to answer questions about where they've been and who they've been in contact with.

All in an effort to hopefully play a season. One that ends with an actual NCAA Tournament.

As for when that season might happen? And how? Jones said he has heard all kinds of options about what might be in store. The NCAA has a committee meeting scheduled for Sept. 16 to discuss the basketball options and perhaps decide on the best course for the major conferences.

Jones said he's heard talk of the season being pushed back to Nov. 25, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so the players can start play while the rest of the students are home on holiday break. FSU and several other schools are encouraging students to finish their fall semesters at home after Thanksgiving and having them return in January.

Jones has heard rumblings about all preseason tournaments that are shown on ESPN being moved to one centralized location, with multiple venues, so they can be played in a pseudo bubble.

And both coaches have heard rumors about a regionalized schedule.

"Even in your conference games," Jones said, "Maybe you match up with the teams that are as close to you as possible."

Meaning the Southern teams in the conference wouldn't play the likes of Syracuse and Pittsburgh.

Either way, he knows the schedule he worked hard to put together in the offseason likely will look a good bit different when the season actually gets started.

Maybe some teams can't visit Tallahassee. Maybe Florida State's trip to a tournament in Charleston, S.C., is postponed. Maybe the Seminoles will be looking to fill a couple of vacant spots if the conference season is altered.

"We could have to go into scramble mode, and I'll be doing an awful lot of phone calls trying to reposition things," Jones said. "Nothing has been canceled as of today. And we fortunately had our schedule completed for a normal, regular-type season.

"So, we'll have to see how it all plays out."

All coaches on the FSU campus will.

Martin Jr. certainly wouldn't be surprised if it's a completely different schedule for baseball in 2021. He said he participates in a group text with the rest of the coaches in the conference, and they've shared anything and everything they've heard regarding what the season might look like.

"Just so we can be prepared," he said, "so when the time does come, do we have a regionalized schedule? I'm sure with cost-cutting measures and the threat of getting COVID, they're not going to want us on planes.

"We're all trying to get our weekends lined up just in case that happens."

Martin Jr. said the biggest worry all coaches have right now is the amount of games they'll be allowed to play. He wants to stay at 56. Maybe that means starting the season earlier than ever to get in as many weekend series with in-state teams as possible.

"You could do that," he said. "We could play FAMU seven times during the midweek or something like that. Because that's the main thing: Don't cut our games. That's going to be really detrimental and will be used against us by the pro people. 'You're going to go to Florida State and only play 40 games a year? That's not good for your development.' And they'd be right.

"So, everybody agrees that we have to make sure we play our games."

If there are going to be games at all, there can't be substantial outbreaks among the players. That is a point every coaching staff, in every sport, in the country is trying to drive home to its players right now.

The Florida State baseball and basketball teams are no exceptions.

"I'm constantly sending out group texts to the team, saying look at what happened at N.C. State, look what happened at (North) Carolina," Martin Jr. said. "If you're not going to do what is necessary, you can ruin it for everybody. … I'm trying to make them hold to that pledge and care for each other and want to develop and be together again and get back to what they love doing."

The message from the basketball staff to its players is quite similar.

"We have that conversation probably every day in some form or fashion," Jones said. "We just keep reminding them: You guys want to play, you want to contend for an ACC and national championship? … Well, if you go into a crowded restaurant, you really don't want to play very much this year.

"We talk about it every day: If you want to play, you've got to be willing to be bored."

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