Big Ten announces conference-only football season this fall
Smoke about the Big Ten opting or a conference-only football season this fall started to build earlier this week.
Then Tom Dienhart of the Rivals.com Purdue site, GoldandBlack.com, sourced an anonymous Power Five head coach on Wednesday saying a 10-game all-league schedule was extremely likely.
On Thursday, all of those rumors became official when the Big Ten announced that it would eliminate the non-conference portions of its teams’ 2020 schedules. The move to Big Ten-only competition will go into effect for all fall sports.
Per the press release, the conference office stated that “if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports.
“Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated. By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic.”
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Ronnie Green, University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter, and Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos released a joint statement shortly after the Big Ten's news came out.
“We are pleased that the Big Ten is planning to move forward with fall sports," the statement read. "The conference has determined a path forward that helps to mitigate risk and will allow Husker student-athletes to compete on the field and in the arena. The most important thing is the safety of our student-athletes and that of our Athletics staff and coaches, and we appreciate the thoughtful approach taken by the Big Ten.
"Athletics is a valuable part of campus life, and important to our community and the state of Nebraska. We are fortunate that the COVID-19 pandemic has not been as widespread in Nebraska and look forward to safely hosting Big Ten competitions. While there are still many details left to be worked out, we are eager to safely cheer on our Husker student-athletes.”
There have also been multiple reports that the ACC and Pac-12 will follow the Big Ten's lead and move to conference-only seasons for 2020 fall sports.
The conference's announcement added that this decision came after several months of conversations between the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Directors of Athletics, Conference Office staff, and medical experts including the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.
All summer activities will continue to be voluntary, and any student-athlete who decides not to participate during his/her team’s season due to COVID-19 concerns would have their scholarships honored and not lose standing with their respective programs.
It should also be noted that the Big Ten ended its statement by saying this move was not a guarantee that its sports would be played this fall.
“As we continue to focus on how to play this season in a safe and responsible way, based on the best advice of medical experts, we are also prepared not to play in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes should the circumstances so dictate.”
As far as Nebraska football is concerned, this cancels non-conference home games vs. Central Michigan (Sept. 12), South Dakota State (Sept. 19), and Cincinnati (Sept. 26).
The Huskers were already scheduled to open this season at home vs. Purdue on Sept. 5. The rest of the previous league schedule consisted of: at Northwestern (Oct. 3), vs. Illinois (Oct. 10), at Rutgers (Oct. 24), at Ohio State (Oct. 31), vs. Penn State (Nov. 7), at Iowa (Nov. 14), at Wisconsin (Nov. 21), and vs. Minnesota (Nov. 27).
However, there is no guarantee the previous conference slate will remain the same under the new format. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg reported that the reported 10-game schedule would be frontloaded with divisional games in order to get those in as quickly as possible before any potential future COVID-19 interruptions.
As mentioned in the Big Ten’s statement, official announcements on the structure of the 2020 football season will come at a later date.