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The Big Ten finally has made a decision: It will postpone fall sports and try to play in the spring.
"In making its decision, which was based on multiple factors, the Big Ten Conference relied on the medical advice and counsel of the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.
“Our primary responsibility is to make the best possible decisions in the interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said Morton Schapiro, Chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors and Northwestern University President, in a statement.
GoldandBlack.com has learned Purdue has called an all athletes meeting for 3 p.m. ET today.
To cancel or delay? That was the question Big Ten presidents, commissioner Kevin Warren and others discussed on Tuesday morning during a meeting. And the verdict was to postpone the season for football--and all fall sports.
The fall sports included in this announcement are men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball.
Playing all fall sports in the spring isn't a sure thing, but it is a possibility.
“The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren in a statement.
“As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall."
Purdue coach Jeff Brohm has expressed his willingness to play in the spring.
"I actually think you can," Brohm said over the weekend. "And, you know, there's gonna be some things you would have to do. I mean, you look at an NFL season for teams that go to the playoffs and Super Bowl and preseason games, you could play up to 24 games. Now, I think it's important that we take care of our players, and health and safety is important."
Many logistical hurdles need to be cleared to execute a spring season.
"I think there are ways," said Brohm. "I'm not an expert. I don't know how it will play out if we get to that point, but I would be 100 percent in favor of trying to make it work where we can have a spring season if we can't go on in the fall. And then trying to figure out a way to make the fall season work for 2021 even if there's minor adjustments.
"And I think there are ways to excite things up. Maybe for two years, you change the playoff format and you have an eight-team playoff and you make it exciting. But I think everyone wants football at some point. Players, fans and everyone included, and we'd like to be able to give it to them."
The health risks proved to be too great for the Big Ten to move forward with fall sports. The league felt it didn't have enough answers to the long-term effects of COVID-19. Potential issues with the heart were especially troubling.
A major factor is the presence of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that has been found in a number of Big Ten players stemming from COVID-19.
Many questions need to be answered in the wake of a potential move to the spring for football. Among them: Will the virus be under better control in the spring? Will the Big Ten still play a 10-game, league-only schedule? Will more players opt out? How will scholarships be handled? The questions tumble.
And then there is this: If there is a spring 2021 season, will there be a fall 2021 season?
The Big Ten was slated to open a revised 10-game, league-only season Sept. 3-5 and finish Nov. 21. Now, the conference must devise a plan for the spring. The move will allow Big Ten brass to gather more information about the health risks of COVID-19 as spring plans are devised.
Amid growing speculation that the Big Ten would cancel the 2020 season, prominent league coaches spoke out on Monday. Penn State's James Franklin, Ohio State's Ryan Day, Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and Nebraska Scott Frost showed support for players, who used the #WeWantToPlay hashtag go show their wishes.
Frost went so far to suggest that the Cornhuskers would seek to play games outside the purview of the Big Ten if the league called off the fall 2020 season.
Pac-12 officials also met on Tuesday to decide their approach to the 2020 season, which was supposed to begin Sept. 26. And the Pac-12 opted to call off the fall season, like the Big Ten.
The SEC is all-in on playing in 2020 ... or is at least willing to wait as long as possible to gather more information before pulling the plug. The ACC is making plans to play, and it is scheduled to start Sept. 12. The Big 12 is still evaluating the situation.
The Big Ten's decision was made in the midst of a players' rights movement going on in the background. Players from the Big Ten and other Power Five leagues have formed the We Are United movement which outlines health and safety concerns of football players, among other things.
Big Ten schools had begun training camps. Purdue conducted its fourth practice on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Big Ten told schools not to progress to padded practices, which are known as "Day 3" of the acclimatization practice period. Only helmets were to be worn.
Now, all of the equipment will be put away ... and hopefully be brought back out in the spring.
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