Big Ten Cancels Fall Football Season

There won’t be Big Ten Football in 2020 after the conference’s school presidents decided Tuesday not to play the upcoming season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The league will evaluate the possibility of potentially playing football in the spring.

The news comes less than a week after the Big Ten announced a revised, conference-only schedule. On Monday, a few Big Ten coaches, including Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Penn State’s James Franklin publicly said they wanted the season to be played.

“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.

The MAC and Mountain West had been the first two FBS conferences to cancel fall sports. Pac-12 presidents are meeting Tuesday to discuss the possibility of postponing the football season, as well.

The remaining Power Five conferences, the Big 12, SEC and ACC, are planning to play conference-only schedules, at this time.

Some of college football’s top stars expressed their desire to play the upcoming season on social media in recent days. President Donald Trump has also been vocal in saying college football shouldn’t be canceled.

Of the 130 FBS schools, 41 have decided not to play football this fall.