Big Ten will not play out of league
Conference alters all fall schedules
The Big Ten Conference officially has nixed non-conference football games in the fall — and the ACC is expected to follow suit.
In a move that felt like an inevitability, the Big Ten announced Thursday that if football is played in the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it will do so in a conference-only setting. That goes for all of the conference’s fall sports, too, not just football, affecting soccer, cross country, field hockey and women’s volleyball.
So, Penn State won’t play Sept. 12 at Virginia Tech. It won’t play host Sept. 5 to Kent State or Sept. 19 to San Jose State, either.
The Big Ten is the first Power Five conference to adopt a conference-only schedule, and it likely won’t be the last. The ACC is expected to do the same, according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, which would shorten Pitt’s season by a few games.
The Panthers are, for at least the time being, scheduled to face Miami of Ohio Sept. 5 for their opener, followed by a trip to Marshall Sept. 12 and a home game vs. Richmond, a Football Championship Subdivision school, Sept. 19. The Panthers also have a non-conference game slated against Notre Dame Oct. 17 at Heinz Field. That game, though, still could happen in a conference-only schedule.
McMurphy added that ACC commissioner John Swofford told Stadium recently that if conferenceonly schedules were adopted, the ACC would assist Notre Dame “with as many games as it needed.” Which makes sense. Notre Dame maintains its football independence, but agrees to play multiple ACC teams per year in football as part of the institution’s ACC membership in all other sports.
Notre Dame is scheduled to play six ACC schools in 2020. In theory, that number could rise, and the Irish could play an all-ACC slate, if just for this crazy season.
There’s still plenty to sort out — “buy game” contracts, College Football Playoff implications, etc. — and news of the novel coronavirus changes on what seems like a daily basis. But the Big
Ten’s decision comes as optimism for an on-time, “normal” season has faded in recent weeks.
North Carolina and Ohio State suspended voluntary workouts Wednesday for fall athletes due to positive COVID-19 tests. Louisville basketball announced the same on Tuesday. On Thursday, the ACC announced that all fall Olympic sports will push back the start of competition until at least Sept. 1, affecting Pitt women’s volleyball, soccer and cross country and buying a little bit of time.
In its release, the ACC also acknowledged that it continues to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on fall schedules “with the understanding that there may be changes.” The Sept. 1 date
was selected by the ACC for an obvious reason: The conference’s football slate opens Sept. 2, when N.C. State visits Louisville.
But with the Big Ten confirming its conference-only slate, it’s difficult to see how the other Power Five conferences won’t act in the same fashion. Eliminating nonconference games will allow programs to lean on leaguewide policies, if and when they’re cemented. It also will help mitigate long-distance travel, though the ACC still would face a problem, as the conference spans 10 states.
“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,” the Big Ten’s statement read.
The Big Ten also recognized that any athletes who choose not to participate in sports at any time during the summer and/or the 2020-21 academic year due to COVID19 concerns will continue to have their scholarship honored by the university.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour also released a statement, claiming that the Nittany Lions “remain optimistic” about the ability to play sports this fall and in the 2020-21 academic year despite the need to work out “significant additional details.”
“We have no doubt it will look, feel and act differently than we have become accustomed to over time,” Barbour said. “But giving our studentathletes the opportunity to compete in the sport they love and have played their entire lives is important to them individually and us collectively, as well as to the psyche and viability of our community.
“Please have no doubt, it’s not more important than health and safety, but it cannot and will not be easily cast aside.”
“We have no doubt it will look, feel and act differently than we have become accustomed to over time.”
— Sandy Barbour, Penn State athletic directorr