Big 12 sets minimum player requirement for games

With the start of the season a week away, the Big 12 Conference announced its football game cancellation thresholds on Friday.

The minimum number of players required to play a game has been set at 53. The number is based on the entire roster, including all scholarship and walk-on players, according to a release sent out by the conference.

Additional minimum threshold sofa vailable players were also established for offensive linemen (7), interior defensive linemen (4) and quarterback (1).

Teams falling below any of these benchmarks, based on game-week test results, could still elect to play as scheduled if so desired. Otherwise, upon approval by the league commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the game would be declared a no-contest if it cannot be moved to a later date.

The Big 12 schedule provides each team with two open weeks, plus the option to move the Big 12 Championship back one week to December 19 if needed. Open dates will be used for rescheduling games in the event a team does not have enough players to compete.

The non- conference portion of the Big 12 schedule kicks off Sept. 11- 12, with conference play beginning Sept. 26. NORTH TEXAS: First-year quarterbacks coach Tate Wallis was free on bond Friday after his arrest on charges of having an improper relationship with a student while in his previous job at a high school. Wallis was arrested Thursday on two counts of improper relationship between a student and an educator, according to Denton County jail records. OKLAHOMA: The Sooners will not be selling season or single-game tickets for the 2020 soccer and volleyball seasons. Home and visitor student-athletes will receive a limited number of complimentary tickets on a pass-list basis. Individuals who receive tickets are required to follow CDC guidelines and wear masks at all times at John Crain Field and McCasland Field House. Gates will open one hour prior to competition time. TCU: The Horned Frogs and SMU postponed their Sept. 11 matchup in Fort Worth after the Horned Frogs said that some players and support staff tested positive for the coronavirus. TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said the programs would try to make up the game at a later date. The TCU-SMU matchup is just the latest game upended by COVID issues. North Carolina State game at Virginia Tech was moved from Sept. 12 to 26. Marshall and East Carolina postponed their Sept. 12 game and no makeup date has been set.