The Decision
On Monday morning, it was reported that the BIG-10 Conference has canceled the 2020 college football season. This report comes on the heels of rumors throughout the past week insinuating that football may not be played at all in power-5 conferences. While this has not yet been confirmed and the source is anonymous, an announcement from the BIG-10 is expected to be made tomorrow.
This decision from the BIG-10 may be the first of many. Other power-5 conferences are currently evaluating where they stand on a 2020 season. Conferences like the BIG-12 and the ACC have already made revisions to their schedules, but are considering shutting it down like the BIG-10. We should get a better grasp of where college football stands in the coming days.
According to the anonymous source, the vote to cancel the season in the BIG-10 came this morning. Each president of the 14 schools in the conference had a vote. The vote was tallied at 12-2, with only the presidents at Iowa and Nebraska voting to play. That means schools such as Ohio State and Michigan, who have players voicing their ambitions to play, voted in favor of canceling the season. While the vote is warranted due to health concerns, it will be interesting to see how the players respond.
What Happens Next?
The past week in college football has already been wild. Top prospects have opted out of the season and others have voiced their yearnings to play. We do not know what is going to happen next. Will the other conferences shut down their seasons as well? How will this effect the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft process? Will another year of eligibility be granted to seniors? All these questions will need to be answered soon. But, for right now, there will be no football in the BIG-10 this year.
