Auburn is assuming the most optimal outcome from COVID-19, planning to fill its stadiums and arenas this fall as previously scheduled.

There's no use doing otherwise yet; university presidents and leaders have been doing the same all spring, radiating positivity by proclaiming, "We're going to have football," or "We will resume fall classes as normal." Why not hope for the best while the future is foggy?

Of course, it's more than likely that college football stadiums and other college sporting venues will look and operate drastically different this fall in the face of the pandemic.

But Auburn and its athletic leadership don't want to jump to conclusions.

"It’s too early to tell what the endgame is going to be," third-year Auburn athletic director Allen Greene said on a Zoom call Tuesday when asked if he thinks Jordan-Hare Stadium will be full of fans in a few months.

A couple months back, that question would have seemed entirely impractical given the circumstances, but the prospect of having fans at college football games in some capacity has been practically discussed as of late by at least a few prominent figures in the sport.

Namely, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said last month "it's possible" the Buckeyes' stadium could house a fraction of its usual fan capacity this fall to adhere to national health and social-distancing guidelines. Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick relayed a similar sentiment, claiming if it's deemed safe to have nearly 200 people on each sideline for football competition, at least some fans should be allowed in the stadium. The idea is gaining traction.

Obviously, everything is still wishful thinking. The NCAA and SEC movers and shakers haven't even voted on a return to preseason practices, let alone plans for the actual season. But they'll be here soon enough.

So Greene thinks when those decisions roll around, fans should be ready to accept changes to what they are used to as being "normal" for college football games in Jordan-Hare Stadium, along with other Auburn sports.

"I think it’s naive to think that there won’t be some tweaks and some twists to that," he said.

For the Tigers' standard home-field advantage of 87,451 people, what could those changes look like? Greene and his staff have had talks about the subject, but like everything else Auburn and other programs discuss for the future, they're at the mercy of NCAA, SEC and likely government guidelines.

"We don’t know what those (tweaks) are, so we’re contingency planning in case we have to use it," Greene said.

Auburn football players are reporting to campus Thursday — and will be tested for COVID-19 on Friday morning — during Phase 1 of the athletic department's plan to a return to voluntary workouts and team activities. Phase 2 consists of basketball players later this month, and Phase 3 will be all other student-athletes in July, Greene said.

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