Scott Frost: Nebraska will fight for right to play, whether or not it’s in the Big Ten
Monday has been a weird day for the Big Ten.
With the 2020 college football season hanging in the balance, there was a report in the Detroit Free Press that the Big Ten not be playing this fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a short while later Nicole Auerbach of the Athletic reported the schools haven’t voted yet.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh pushed for the season to be played, but the Iowa football team canceled a regularly-scheduled practice on Monday adding fuel to the fire of a season on the brink.
Whether or not the Big Ten season goes on as scheduled, the Nebraska football team plans to play.
Cornhuskers coach Scott Frost told reporters Monday the team intends to take the field this fall.
“We want to play a Big Ten schedule, I hope that’s what happens. Our university is committed to playing no matter what. No matter what that looks like and how that looks,” Frost said. “We want to play no matter who it is or where it is, so we’ll see how all those chips fall. We certainly hope it’s in the Big Ten. If it isn’t, I think we’re prepared to look for other options.”
Nebraska offensive lineman Matt Farniok echoed his coach’s sentiment.
“We want to be able to represent the Big Ten, but if the Big Ten chooses to cancel, we are 100% open to playing whoever wants to play,” he said.
If the Big Ten shuts down for the fall, could one of those options for Nebraska be the Big 12? Former Colorado coach Rick Neuheisel said a handful of Big Ten teams are pondering a move to the Big 12, per school officials.
Ten years ago, Nebraska left the Big 12 for the Big Ten, so would the Huskers return? Would they be welcome?
Some were in favor of the move.
Frost opened his news conference by saying he was going to bat for his team.
“I have a group of players that I love, every single one of them,” Frost said. “I ask them to fight for us all the time, to fight on the football field all the time. I think sometimes the head coach’s responsibility is to fight for what they want, too. Our football players want to play, the coaches want to coach. We want to play football this fall at the University of Nebraska...
“I think what’s kind of being missed in a lot of these conversations is what the world looks like, what the universities look like and what the lives of our kids look like if we don’t play football. And I haven’t heard a lot of people talk about that. But what does the world look like without football?”
Frost said any decision by the Big Ten shouldn’t be made because of financial reasons. The players are what matters most to Frost.
“A lot of people around the country are going to point to the fact that all these decisions are going to be financial,” he said. “Let’s skip past that for a second, let’s skip past the fact that the University of Nebraska athletic department will lose 80 to 120 million dollars if we don’t play football, the city of Lincoln will lose upwards of $300 million if we don’t play football, and the state of Nebraska will lose hundreds of millions of dollars if we don’t play football.
“Let’s skip past the fact that a lot of people are going to be laid off, furloughed, lose jobs and their kids aren’t going to be able to have the same things they have right now while their mom and dad are working. Let’s skip past the fact that a lot of schools are going to have to drop sports and some sports aren’t going to exist again.
“Let’s take the financial piece out of it. Right from the beginning, our priority has been the health and safety of our student-athletes, nothing’s been more important. Winning or losing any game doesn’t matter as much to us as the health and safety of these kids that we care about and love that are playing for us and the state of Nebraska.”
