Since the Big Ten announced it was postponing its 2020 season on Aug. 11, rumors, speculation and various “reports from sources” have sprung up with regularity about when the conference could resume play. The result: A lot of confusion.
Here are some FAQs to help draw the current situation into focus as we head toward an official decision on a format from the Big Ten in coming days.
Q: When will the Big Ten most likely play?
A: Several possible starting points have been mentioned in various reports: October, November, January, February. Each potential jumping off point would have some merits. But some are more viable than others.
The most logical option would be to play an eight-game season starting in early January, and ending with a Big Ten title game in early March. The Big Ten would have about a two-month window to be the "only game in town," so to speak, from a football standpoint. Ratings would likely be high. And the early January start would allow the season to end in ample time for players to prep for the NFL draft. It also would create around a six-month buffer before the start of the 2021 fall season. The Big Ten wants the fall of 2021 season to be a normal 12-game campaign.
And know this: The Football Oversight Committee last week agreed to recommend to the Division I Council a spring-season model for conferences that push their seasons to spring of 2021. It includes 15 practices in 29 days and an eight-game season that must end by April 17 and be played over 13 weeks.
Q: Is there any chance for a fall season?
A: No matter how much foot stomping is done by fans, media and coaches, the Big Ten doesn’t figure to budge for a fall season. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren issued a “letter to the Big Ten community” in August that stated that the vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors was "overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited.”
The latest hot rumor had the Big Ten contemplating an Oct. 10. But Iowa A.D. Gary Barta—and others—put the kibosh on that recently. Barta told the media last week that he was “not aware” of a vote by Big Ten presidents to lift the postponement and kick off in October. He went on to say it would take a “miracle” to get things off the ground in just over a month.
Q: But what about starting around Thanksgiving?
A: That idea was leaked a few weeks ago. The model would include 10 games—as opposed to eight for a season that began in January. More games, more money. Another thing that makes a Thanksgiving start attractive is many schools will send students home after the Thanksgiving holiday break, not to return until the start of the second semester in January. With no students on campus, Big Ten teams could work in de facto bubbles for much of the winter season, being less likely to get infected.
Q: If a Big Ten season happens, where would games be played?
A: All the scuttlebutt has focused on playing games at domes in the Big Ten footprint: Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ford Field in Detroit, U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Miller Park in Milwaukee and the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., have been mentioned as possible venues. Fans aren’t expected to be allowed for games that could take place on days beyond the traditional Saturday.
Q: What’s the potential impact of rapid testing?
A: It would be a game-changer. Abbott Labs has developed a $5 COVID-19 rapid test. The Pac-12 announced a recent agreement with Quidel to provide on-site rapid testing, which is cheap and accurate with results in as little as 15 minutes. Perhaps the advancements in testing will lead to an accelerated start for the Big Ten.
Q: What would the Big Ten be playing for if it began a season in early 2021?
A: It won’t be a part of the College Football Playoff, which will take place this fall involving the FBS leagues still playing: SEC, ACC, Big 12, AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA and select independents. And CFP executive director Bill Hancock has told ESPN there has been no discussion about a spring playoff. So, what would that leave Big Ten teams left playing for? A conference championship. There also has been talk of the Big Ten playing the Pac-12 champion in the Rose Bowl. And the two leagues also could schedule other bowl matchups. But there will be no Big Ten national champion in 2020. But know this: The traditional Jan. 1 Rose Bowl will play host to a CFP semifinal game this season. And David Eads, the Tournament of Roses' executive director, told ESPN "it's too early to speculate about a second Rose Bowl."
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Q: What about the Heisman? Will Big Ten players still be able to win it?
A: No word yet on if the Downtown Athletic Club in New York will delay Heisman voting so players in the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC--the four FBS leagues not playing--can compete for the famed bronzed bauble. Perhaps voting for the Heisman should be delayed until ALL of college football is played in 2020-21. Same goes for the other individual trophies, like the Thorpe, Groza, Mackey, Butkus, etc. Who knows?
Q: Will the Big Ten see more players opt out?
A: The league already has taken some big hits with players like Purdue’s Rondale Moore, Penn State’s Micah Parsons, Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman, Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater, among others, bolting. The longer Big Ten players are left twisting in the wind not knowing what the plan is to play, the more likely more top talent could leave. Could Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Shaun Wade, among others, be the next to bid adieu? The stars may not want to take part in a non-traditional winter season played in domes away from campus in front of no fans with no prospect of winning a national title or individual award.
Q: What are Big Ten teams doing right now?
A: Last month, the NCAA Division I Council passed the Football Oversight Committee’s recommendation on fall practice for teams that won’t be playing this fall. Purdue and other Big Ten teams are permitted 12 hours of meetings, practice and workouts per week.
Five of those hours can be spent on the field in contactless drills and seven can be spent in strength and conditioning work along with meetings. There are two mandatory days off, and a four-hour daily limit on athletics activities is included, too.
The new fall practice model took effect on Monday, Aug. 24, and runs through Oct. 4. The committee intends to further study the issue to determine appropriate levels of countable athletics activity for the remainder of the year. The hope of many Big Ten coaches is to have a fall practice model that approximates typical spring practices, with a weekly allowable hour range from 16-20 hours. That may occur after Oct. 4.
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