Pac-12, Big Ten won’t play football this fall. Big 12, SEC, ACC on track toward kickoff
The Big Ten became the first major conference to opt out of fall sports, including football, because of concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference, which made it official Tuesday, left open the possibility of playing in the spring.
The Pac-12 followed suit Tuesday afternoon, announcing that no sports competitions of any kind will take place for the rest of 2020.
That leaves three Power Five conferences — SEC, Big 12 and ACC — that have not announced a fall shutdown.
The Big 12’s presidents and athletic directors met Tuesday and did not postpone the season. Sources told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the league is leaning toward playing football this fall.
A football coach from one of those leagues, Chris Kleiman of Kansas State, said he hopes there is a fall season in the Big 12.
“They all want to stay safe and do it the right way,” Kleiman said minutes after the Big Ten made its announcement. “But they want to play. They want to compete.”
Will they get that opportunity?
And can a college football season exist with only three of the five major conferences competing? Two other Football Bowl Subdivision leagues, the Mountain West and Mid-American Conference, have postponed fall sports, leaving three conferences in that group.
The ACC issued a statement later Tuesday saying the league would make decisions based on medical advice and “will continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well.”
On Tuesday, the chair of the ACC medical advisory group said a fall season can be played safety. Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a Duke infectious disease specialist, told Sports Business Journal that the risks can be managed.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey issued a similar statement: “I look forward to learning more about the factors that led to the Big Ten leadership to take these actions today. I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approaching that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes.”
The Pac-12’s decision brings the cancellation of winter sports into play. League officials’ determination that no competition will take place in the 2020 calendar year essentially eliminates the Pac-12’s scheduled non-conference basketball games.
Before the Big Ten’s call, President Trump advocated for college football to continue in the fall, during an interview on Fox Sports Radio.
“These football players are very young, strong people, and physically, I mean they’re physically in extraordinary shape,” Trump said. “So they’re not going to have a problem, you’re not going to see people, you know, could there be? Could it happen? But I doubt it.”
Trump later added: “So I think football is making a tragic mistake.”
The Big Ten and Pac-12 said their decisions were based on multiple factors, including medical advice and counsel from the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.
“Our primary responsibility is to make the best possible decisions in the interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said Morton Schapiro, chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors and Northwestern University’s president.
“The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” said Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren. “As time progressed, and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.”
Some Big Ten coaches, including Nebraska’s Scott Frost and Penn State’s James Franklin, have made a case for playing football in the fall. And several coaches elsewhere, including Alabama’s Nick Saban, have said football players are in a safer environment in a football program than they would be when away from those programs.
The Cornhuskers issued a statement from Frost, university president Ted Carter and chancellor Ronnie Green expressing disappointment in the Big Ten’s decision and holding out hope for competition this fall.
“We are very disappointed in the decision by the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall football season, as we have been and continue to be ready to play,” the statement read.
“Safety comes first. Based on the conversations with our medical experts, we continue to believe the absolute safest place for our student athletes is within the rigorous safety protocols, testing procedures, and support provided by Huskers Athletics.
“We will continue to consult with medical experts and evaluate the situation as it emerges. We hope it may be possible for our student athletes to have the opportunity to compete.”
Kleiman said not knowing if there will be a fall season this year has taken a toll on his program in Manhattan.
“It’s been hard on the guys, all of the uncertainty, the mental strain they have on them, the anxiety of having not having a lot of answers,” Kleiman said.
This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 3:20 PM.