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The Big Ten and PAC-12 Dropped Fall Sports, Now What For Power 5 Football?

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By Larry Daniels

The Big Ten and PAC-12 Conferences voted on August 11th, 2020 to postpone college football and other fall sports because of the coronavirus pandemic. Both Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and PAC-12 commissioner Larry Scott, cited long discussions with affected parties. Ultimately, it became clear that the uncertainty of potential medical risks to their student-athletes was the deciding factor. Commissioner Warren is now considering playing field hockey, football, cross country, along with soccer and volleyball, in the spring. Commissioner Scott is taking it a step further by adding that Winter sports will not compete until January 1st, 2021, at the earliest.

Reports about myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by viral condition may have influenced commissioner Warren’s decision. The mother of Indiana freshman offensive lineman, Brady Feeney, detailed her son’s battle with COVID-19 in an emotionally charged Facebook post. He started with breathing issues and as the disease progressed, heart problems were indicated. Despite the dangers of continuing the football season amid a pandemic, officials at Ohio State University and the University of Nebraska are looking at other options of continuing their seasons.

Earlier in the week, the SEC and the ACC affirmed their desire to push forward with the college football season. The presidents of the Big 12 met on Tuesday night and gave the green light to playing this season as well. Decisions were made to revise the schedule of nine conference games, plus one non-conference game this season in the Big 12. The conference also announced its plans for enhanced COVID-19 testing which will include three tests per week in high contact sports such as football, volleyball, and soccer. Return to play protocols will include EKGs, troponin blood tests, echocardiograms and cardiac MRIs to help mitigate concerns about heart issues related to COVID-19. The ACC had some troubling issues appear last Thursday. Syracuse players opted out of their third practice because of COVID-19 concerns, and Pittsburgh halted practice because several players showed COVID-19 symptoms. In the SEC, multiple Vanderbilt football players have informed coach Derek Mason that they plan to opt-out this season over concerns about the coronavirus.

In a normal college football season, the quest of every team is to win the national championship. In the last few years, a playoff system has been created to determine the national champion. With the Big Ten and the PAC-12 opting out until the spring, it is not possible for a congruent schedule. The quest to find out who is #1 is in disarray. Would teams who have played in the fall have to wait months to play a possible playoff opponent? Will we have to go back to playing just bowl games only? How will the rankings be fair?

Personally, I would take the wait-and-see approach. We do not know if COVID-19 will get worse in the coming months. An example would be if a player injured his ACL and received a recommendation from his doctor not to play but played anyway. The national CDC guidelines are not being considered for athletes on the field at this point. It is like letting drunk driving become legal again. The danger and risks are just too great. I applaud the Big Ten and the PAC-12 for their decision. Shame on political leaders for trying to force their hand on this matter. Shame on the players speaking out and wanting to play. It is a selfish disregard the safety of all involved.

A pandemic requires tough choices. The right choices include protection for everyone.

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