COLUMBUS — The Big Ten conference is moving to a conference-only schedule for all fall sports, including football, the conference announced on Thursday.
For Ohio State, this means that the games scheduled against Oregon, Bowling Green, and Buffalo will not be played.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the upcoming college football season has been a giant question mark. But on Thursday the Big Ten became the first FBS conference to make a decision regarding the 2020 season.
Additional details will come soon but you can read the full announcement from the Big Ten below.
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“We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority.
To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today 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.
This decision was made following many thoughtful conversations over several months 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.
In addition, the Conference announced that summer athletic activities will continue to be voluntary in all sports currently permitted to engage in such activities. Furthermore, Big Ten student-athletes who choose not to participate in intercollegiate athletics at any time during the summer and/or the 2020-21 academic year due to concerns about COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarship honored by their institution and will remain in good standing with their team.
While Big Ten member institutions continue to rely on the most up-to-date medical information to establish the best protocols for voluntary workouts on their campuses, in compliance with local and state regulations, the Conference is working with the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee to finalize Conference-wide protocols.
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.”
So traveling from Ohio to Oregon to play a football game is a risk not worth taking, but taking a trip from Minnesota to New Jersey is just fine. Evidently the virus understands the difference between a conference game and a non-conference game. If one of those “experts” on the Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases could explain that to us, clearly we would be too dumb to understand their brilliance. I was fearing that the season would be canceled, now I give a damn.
Correct; travel, in general, is a risk not worth taking. In fact, group travel and gatherings are considered two of the highest risk activities for the transmission of Covid19. It’s not just about our entertainment and Covid19 is not a hoax.
It’s not just football that’s being impacted. Other sports will play multiple away games in a single week to justify travel. Having student athletes and staff travel several thousand miles for a game is a risk not worth taking. Combine that risk with potential financial liabilities that Big10 teams could incur for last minute cancellations is another risk not worth taking for teams and the Big10. Intra-conference game issues would be supported by all schools, as they are a member of the same conference, and I would assume this would alleviate any potential financial issues.
Let’s just enjoy the entertainment we might have this season. Hopefully the student athletes, staff, fans, etc. stay healthy and we can enjoy a full slate of the games that matter most. Go Bucks!
My question is, if it’s too unhealthy to play non conference games, then is it too unhealthy to play conference games? If it’s fine to play conference games, then why isn’t it fine to play non conference games? Decisions could be made just as quickly for non conference games than conference games, at least for football since one game is played a week. If logic follows, and decisions are made on quick notice, why not rearrange the schedule for B1G schools closest to each other?
Kurt, Only thing I can think of re your thoughts is that if the conf-only plan blows up due to virus-whatever, then when S hits the fan w/ an institution or a couple, then the fallout “only” affects a conf school(s), and not an out out conf school. Kinda like if we make a mess, better to keep it in the family?
And I confess to be maybe completely talking out of my a** here too?