No more speculation or educated guesses, the Big Ten and Pac-12 Conference will not play college football in the Fall. Since Sunday, there had been rumors swirling around the major Power Five Conferences were ready to pull the plug on the football season after major concerns relating to COVID-19 cases. Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren said the safety of student-athletes contributed to this decision.
“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 move forward,” said Warren. “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.”
Originally, the conference planned to play 10 conference only football games but with this decision, they plan to move play to the Spring if things change regarding COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 joins the Big Ten in cancelling the season as well. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott in a statement cited the safety of students and athletes being the main reason.
“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” said Scott.
Scott also addressed the concern of putting college football and athletes in a bubble and the statement, “Players are better at their school than being back at home or in their community.”
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, a source through him said that Myocarditis, a major health concern that largely led to the Big Ten’s decision. Myocarditis is inflammation in the heart muscle which in turn can affect the way your heart beats, pump blood, and even form blood clots leading to stroke or death. The source through Dodd also went on to say, “Myocarditis is the major issue they’re looking at. Between the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, that’s what is really driving the push to push this off to spring.”
“Unlike professional sports, college sports cannot operate in a bubble. Our athletic programs are a part of broader campuses in communities where in many cases the prevalence of COVID-19 is significant.”
It is important to note that both conferences guaranteed the athletes their scholarships.
With two major power five conferences canceling their football season, that leaves the SEC and ACC to decide their fate.
Last Friday, the SEC announced each school’s two opposing division opponents for their conference only schedule but earlier today, Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey assured people in the statement that the conference is looking at every facet on their decision to postpone or continue the football season.
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today,” said Sankey. “I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate, and care for our student-athletes everyday.”
