Change of schedule
Big Ten Conference to play conference-only games in football and other fall sports
PENN STATE 2020 SCHEDULE
The Big Ten has canceled nonconference competition in all fall sports and will face only conference opponents — if the 2020 seasons are played at all — because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a release Thursday afternoon, the Big Ten said it made the decision based on medical advice and after monthslong conversations among conference presidents and chancellors, athletic directors and medical experts. Details for the sports — football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross-country, field hockey and women’s volleyball — will be released at a later date.
“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,” the Big Ten statement said. “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.”
Penn State was scheduled to open its football season at home against Kent State on Sept. 5. The Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten game is Sept. 26 at home against Northwestern.
Some of the most significant nonconference football games wiped off the schedule include Michigan at Washington on Sept. 5, Ohio State at Oregon on Sept. 12, Miami at Michigan State on Sept. 26 and Wisconsin against Notre Dame on Oct. 3 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, through a football program release, said: “We look forward to playing Wisconsin at Soldier Field in
2021 and Barry (Alvarez) and I are committed to scheduling a game a Lambeau Field in the future.”
Notre Dame, an independent, has six Atlantic Coast Conference opponents on its 2020 schedule: Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Louisville.
While the ACC hasn’t made an official announcement on limiting its schools to conferenceonly games, Stadium reported Thursday that the conference likely will follow the Big Ten’s lead. And Commissioner John Swofford told Stadium last month that if Power Five schools limited opponents to conference-only schools, the ACC “would assist Notre Dame with as many games as it needed.”
The Big Ten football scheduling changes affect 28 FBS opponents and eight FCS opponents. The financial ramifications for some programs, which receive payouts for scheduling Big Ten opponents, could be crushing.
The Big Ten also said its universities would honor scholarships for any student-athletes who choose not to participate during the 2020-21 academic year because of coronavirus concerns.
Uncertainty about the logistics and ethics of playing a college football season has been a hot topic.
Morehouse College canceled its football and cross-country seasons — its two fall sports — in late June, citing concerns about player safety. The Ivy League announced Wednesday that it would not resume sports until at least the winter season.
Some have speculated college football could move its season to the spring. Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour recently told reporters that was a “last resort” scenario.
Sixty-six programs have announced positive coronavirus tests among their athletes and staff since returning for voluntary football workouts, according to the Buffalo News. Ohio State and North Carolina on Wednesday halted their workout programs after positive tests.
“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,” the Big Ten statement said.
“We feel in order to establish the safest environment possible for our student-athletes, coaches, staff and our community, this is the best path forward,” Barbour said in a statement. “… We remain optimistic about our ability to play sports this fall and in the 2020-21 academic year. We have no doubt it will look, feel and act differently than we have become accustomed to over time.”
Illinois’ athletic department is “encouraged” by the Big Ten’s decision.
“Health and safety of our students, coaches and staff and fans remain the first and foremost priority of both the Big Ten and our university, and as the conference made clear today, we will not hesitate to suspend, delay, or cancel competition should such a decision be dictated by community health concerns,” a statement from Illinois athletics read.
In a conference call with reporters, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith noted the decision was made to provide flexibility in scheduling should an opposing team have an outbreak or if the college sports season needs to pause in early fall. Following a standard Big Ten protocol could help mitigate risk too, he said.
“We finally got to a point where we were talking about realistically can we have a football season,” Smith said. “It kind of came naturally as we talked about our planning principles and the health and safety of our student athletes.”
Many questions remain unanswered.
How many games will be played? How many positive cases will force a team to cancel a game or its season?
Will a champion be rewarded? Will teams play only division opponents? Will fans attend?
In May, Smith said in a Toledo Blade report that he felt “confident” 20,000 to 30,000 fans could attend college football games.
“Two months ago, I was optimistic — cautiously optimist — but I’ve lost that,” he said Thursday. “If we have fans in the stands, it would be [under] CDC guidelines and we’d have to figure out what those numbers are. If we have fans in the stands. I want everyone to be realistic here because that’s a real concern.”
(The Morning Call contributed to this report)