By: Tripp Vistica
Sept. 20, 2020
Last Wednesday, the Big Ten Conference announced that they would play football in 2020 beginning October 24 after announcing the cancelation of all athletics on August 11. Leaders of Big Ten universities changed their minds after a month of pressure from fans, coaches and players that want Big Ten football this season. However, this decision was made only five days after 20 members of the Memphis Tiger football team tested positive for COVID-19 and 20 more players were quarantined, and 44 members of the University of Tennessee (UT) Volunteers football program tested positive for the virus on September 5.
With the Big Ten changing their decision to play football this season, the PAC-12 Conference has decided to play football this season as well. However, the PAC-12 is aiming to start their season on October 31 or November 7. If the Pac-12 starts on Halloween, they might have a chance to play enough games to be eligible for the College Football Playoff (CFP), but if they have to wait until November 7 then it will be too late. The Big Ten wanted to make sure they would have time to play enough games, including a Conference Championship Game, to be eligible to compete for a spot in the CFP, which is why they decided to start their season on October 24.
It seems insane that the Big Ten would change their decision to play football only five days after 40 players from the University of Memphis (UofM) football team tested positive for the coronavirus, but many of the UofM players did not follow proper safety protocols. After the UofM defeated Arkansas State 37-24 in their first game on September 5, many players rented a party bus to celebrate the victory and were not social distancing themselves. Instead, they decided to take that risk which backfired on them hard, postponing their second game against Houston to a later date or possibly cancelling the game altogether.
The Big Ten, however, has much stricter rules and safety precautions for the conference than the American Athletic Conference (AAC) does to keep their players and coaches healthy and safe during this pandemic. The Big Ten will test every player and coach on daily basis, and anyone that tests positive will be out for at least 21 days to recover. Also, assessments of the conditions will be made regarding all upcoming games, and individual universities will be allowed to suspend the return to competition on a week-to-week basis. As well as the 21-game suspension for any player or coach that tests positive, the Big Ten will also shutdown a team’s season if the team has at least a five percent positivity rate with their daily testing.
Big Ten commissioner, Kevin Warren, upset a lot of college football fans when he announced that the Big Ten would not be playing any fall sports this year on August 11, while the other conferences remained patient in making that decision. Immediately, Warren took a lot of heat from fans. Many fans believed Warren failed with his communication, transparency and failed to bring people together. The Big Ten has been considered one of the most unified conferences in the NCAA, but they put themselves in a state of upheaval with their universities all disagreeing with each other.
Warren’s decision to reinstate football in the Big Ten on October 24 was influenced by the growing anger by coaches, players, parents of players and Big Ten fans as they watched other conferences start their football season. However, Warren was more concerned about the health and safety of the coaches and players. Warren’s decision to postpone the football season to the spring damaged the Big Ten’s image, so Warren decided to reverse his decision to avoid a public relations nightmare.
“It’s a blessing to be here today. I’m just proud to be a part of the Big Ten”, Warren said. “We will take a leadership role and put the health and safety of our student athletes at the top.”
Warren still believes that he made the right decision at the time to postpone all fall sports, including football in the Big Ten. However, the pressure from fans, coaches, and players coupled with the information that’s been gathered and analyzed to keep the coaches and players healthy and safe, the Big Ten now will kick off their 2020 football season on October 24 instead of in the spring 2021 semester.
Tripp Vistica 