The Maui News

Big Ten scraps nonconfere­nce games for football, other fall sports due to pandemic

- By JOHN ZENOR The Associated Press

Pac-12 reportedly to follow suit; UH has three opponents from conference

The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday it will not play nonconfere­nce games in football and several other sports this fall, the most dramatic move yet by a power conference because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

The conference cited medical advice in making its decision and added ominously that the plan would be applied only “if the conference is able to participat­e in fall sports.”

Big Ten Commission­er Kevin Warren said it was “much easier if we’re just working with our Big Ten institutio­ns” in terms of things like scheduling and traveling.

“We may not have sports in the fall,” Warren told the Big Ten Network. “We may not have a college football season in the Big Ten.

“So we just wanted to make sure that this was the next logical step to always rely on our medical experts to keep our student-athletes at the center of all of our decisions and make sure that they are as healthy as they possibly can be from a mental, a physical, an emotional health and wellness standpoint.”

The other big conference­s — the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 — have all indicated they intend to play fall sports. However, the Pac-12 is expected to follow the Big Ten in eliminatin­g nonconfere­nce competitio­n, The Athletic reported, citing “multiple industry insiders.”

That would be disasterou­s for the University of Hawaii football team, which is scheduled to face three Pac-12 teams this season: Arizona (Aug. 29), UCLA (Sept. 5) and Oregon (Sept. 19).

The Rainbow Warriors have already lost one opponent for 2020 — Fordham confirmed earlier this week that it was canceling its game at Aloha Stadium scheduled for Sept. 12. If the Pac-12 games also fall through, and no replacemen­t opponents can be found, UH’s opener wouldn’t be until Oct. 3 at home against Mountain West foe Nevada.

There has been deep unease that the pandemic will deal a blow to fall sports after wiping out hundreds of games, including March Madness, this past spring. More than a dozen schools have reported positive tests for the virus among athletes in the past month, but the bad news picked up this week as the Ivy League canceled all fall sports and Stanford announced it was cutting 11 varsity sports.

The Big Ten decision is the biggest yet because Bowl Subdivisio­n football games — more than 40 of them, all moneymaker­s in different ways — were simply erased. And the move didn’t wash away fears the entire fall season could be in jeopardy.

“I am really concerned, that is the question of the day,” Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said on a conference call after the announceme­nt. “I was cautiously optimistic. I’m not even there now.”

Besides football, the sports affected include cross country, field hockey, soccer and women’s volleyball.

“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 said.

The marquee nonconfere­nce matchups in the Big Ten this season included Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 3 at Lambeau Field. Other big matchups included Michigan at Washington, Ohio State-Oregon, Penn State-Virginia Tech and Miami-Michigan State.

Much of the pain will be felt at smaller schools that lean heavily on the big-money games to help fund their athletic budgets. Hours before the Big Ten announceme­nt, Northern Iowa, which will lose a Sept. 5 game at Iowa, said it expected an athletics budget shortfall to exceed $1 million.

The Maui News contribute­d to this story.

 ?? Lincoln Journal Star via AP / Jacob Hannah photo ?? Turf manager Jared Hertzel touches up the newly painted Big Ten conference logo on the field at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., in October 2011. The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday it will not play nonconfere­nce games in football as well as several other sports this fall because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.
Lincoln Journal Star via AP / Jacob Hannah photo Turf manager Jared Hertzel touches up the newly painted Big Ten conference logo on the field at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., in October 2011. The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday it will not play nonconfere­nce games in football as well as several other sports this fall because of the coronaviru­s pandemic.

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