Presidents of the 14 Big Ten schools voted Tuesday to postpone the 2020 college football season with hopes of playing in the spring. Pac-12 presidents are expected to do the same later Tuesday. Medical experts for both of those conferences recommended shutting down, yet similar experts at other conferences are not of the same opinion. Ohio State had been the second-betting favorite at William Hill sportsbook to win the national championship (behind Clemson) but now may not even be able to play for one.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren: "As time progressed … it became abundantly clear there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall."
Meanwhile, the ACC and SEC appear to be moving forward with plans to play – or at least hold off for a few more weeks on any final decision – and the Big 12 somewhat on the fence.
"I can tell you on the record the SEC is steadfast in playing ... we are planning on playing September 26th," new Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said on a St. Louis radio show Tuesday.
The entire SEC schedule is set to open that day, but the official slate hasn't been released yet with the two added conference games. Missouri got the short end of the stick by adding West powerhouses Alabama and LSU.
Also Tuesday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said that the conference's presidents and chancellors have been given a green light by their medical advisory group to proceed with preseason preparation.
"We believe we set a responsible plan," Sankey said, adding he believes the SEC has created a "healthy environment" with its on-campus bubbles. "We have delayed our kickoff to Sept. 26, which is more than three weeks after all of our universities will be open for classes. … The decisions of others are information points for us but not determinative for us." Clearly, Sankey was referring to the Big Ten and Pac-12 with that last comment.
Sports Business Daily first reported Tuesday that Duke Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist who chairs the ACC's medical advisory team, said that doctors have a good enough of a grip on COVID-19 that the season can move forward and be safe.
"We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe," Wolfe said. "Can we safely have two teams meet on the field? I would say yes. Will it be tough? Yes. Will it be expensive and hard and lots of work? For sure. But I do believe you can sufficiently mitigate the risk of bringing COVID onto the football field or into the training room at a level that's no different than living as a student on campus."
One specific area of concern for the NCAA is myocarditis, a condition that causes inflammation of the heart muscle that could be linked with the coronavirus.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that he has been on dozens of calls with medical experts and none have told him not to play: "There's no immediate movement for the Big 12 Conference to shut down the 2020 fall football season. We'll keep trying to move ahead, although it would be less than forthright to sit here and not add that the last 30 days has not gone the way we like. That has to be factored into the decision process. We've probably not made progress, but we've had no one tell us to shut it down."
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde tweeted recently: "Keep a special eye on a divided Big 12, described by one source as 'the linchpin' league in deciding whether we play football this fall.
What might a College Football Playoff/bowl season look like if only the ACC, Big 12 and SEC play this fall along with some Group of Five leagues? How about the Heisman Trophy? Could top Big Ten players like Buckeyes QB Justin Fields, who was the Heisman betting favorite, skip the spring season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft? Those and many questions are still to be answered.
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