Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

2 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

2 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

2 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

3 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

3 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

3 hours ago

Israeli Military Says It Struck Key Hamas Figure in Lebanon’s Tripoli

3 hours ago

Madera County Sheriff Logs 29 Fire-Related Calls on Fourth of July, Most in 5 Years

3 hours ago

Trump Says He May Take Over Governance of Washington, DC

4 hours ago
Big Ten Changes Course, Will Play Fall Football After All
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 16, 2020

Share

Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all.

Less than five weeks after pushing football and other fall sports to spring in the name of player safety during the pandemic, the conference changed course Wednesday and said it plans to begin its season the weekend of Oct. 23-24.

Each team will play eight games in eight weeks and the conference championship game will be held Dec. 19 — if all goes well. That should give the Big Ten an opportunity to compete for the national championship.

The Big Ten said its Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously Tuesday to restart sports. The vote last month was 11-3 to postpone, with Ohio State, Iowa and Nebraska voting against.

The decision to play came after sharp pressure from coaches, players, parents and even President Donald Trump, all of them pushing for a Big Ten football season. The conference is home to a number of battleground states in the November election, and Trump swifly applauded the move in a tweet.

The emergence of daily rapid-response COVID-19 testing, not available when university presidents and chancellors decided to pull the plug on the season, helped trigger a re-vote. The Big Ten said it will begin daily antigen testing of its athletes, coaches and staff on Sept. 30.

Team positivity rates and population positivity rate thresholds will be used to determine whether teams must halt practice or play. The earliest an athlete will be able to return to game competition would be 21 days following a COVID-19 positive diagnosis.

“Everyone associated with the Big Ten should be very proud of the groundbreaking steps that are now being taken to better protect the health and safety of the student-athletes and surrounding communities,” said Dr. Jim Borchers, team physician for Ohio State.

Photo of a mural showing Nebraska football players
A mural showing Nebraska football players and Go Big Red lettering are seen past locked gates at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

The Pac-12 Followed the Big Ten in Postponing, but Was Far More Detailed in Its Explanation

The Big Ten will take a bow, but the conference has been battered for a month.

First-year Commissioner Kevin Warren was the main target, criticized for a lack of communication within the conference and not providing enough information to back the initial decision.

The Big Ten postponed Aug. 11, indicating it would try to make up the season in the spring. But there was no plan in place.

The Pac-12 followed the Big Ten in postponing, but was far more detailed in its explanation and also had more obvious hurdles to clear. Half the Pac-12 schools are still operating under statewide restrictions that make it impossible for teams to practice.

Meanwhile, as the Big Ten and Pac-12 bailed, the three other Power Five conferences forged ahead, along with three other major college football leagues. Games have started, with the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference kicking off last week. The Southeastern Conference is scheduled to start playing games Sept. 26.

Meanwhile, the Big Ten was on the sideline, with coaches struggling to explain to players why other teams could play but they could not.

“We’re excited and we can’t wait to get started,” Michigan State linebacker Antjuan Simmons said.

In Nebraska, eight players had filed a lawsuit against the Big Ten over its decision to postpone. Glen Snodgrass, father of one of the players, Garrett Snodgrass, was teaching a class at York (Nebraska) High School when he received word of the reversal.

“This is what a lot of people have been fighting pretty hard for,” he said. “I can’t say enough about those eight boys and what they had the courage to do. They worked their entire lives to get where they are, and they just wanted to play.”

Nebraska was at the forefront in opposing the Big Ten’s original decision. The university had put out a joint statement from the school president, athletic director and coach Scott Frost expressing disappointment. Frost had also suggested Nebraska might look outside the Big Ten to play games.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno EOC Names New Interim CEO

DON'T MISS

Space Industry Urges Congress Not to Axe System That Prevents Satellite Collisions

DON'T MISS

Gaza Ceasefire Can Be Reached but May Take More Time, Israeli Officials Say

DON'T MISS

US Farm Secretary Says ‘No Amnesty’ for Farmworkers From Deportation

DON'T MISS

UN Passes Climate Change Motion After Marshall Islands Drops Fossil Fuels Focus

DON'T MISS

Federal Agents March Through Los Angeles, Spurring Local Outrage

DON'T MISS

Rescuers Scour Flood Debris in Texas as Hope Fades for Survivors

DON'T MISS

ReserveOne, Backed by Crypto Heavyweights, Set to Raise Over $1 Billion in Nasdaq Listing

DON'T MISS

Private Investment Platform Linqto Files for Bankruptcy Amid SEC Scrutiny

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Searching for Missing 16-Year-Old Girl

UP NEXT

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

UP NEXT

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

UP NEXT

Wonderdog Still Barking: Justin Wilson Thrives With Boston Red Sox

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Orders CA to Strip Trans Athlete of Medals

UP NEXT

Thunder Cap Incredible Season by Beating Pacers for NBA Title

UP NEXT

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million to Support Families Impacted by ICE Raids

UP NEXT

The Secret to Finding the Best Travel Bargains

UP NEXT

Amazon’s Prime Day 2025 Levels Up With Four Days of Deals Starting July 8

UP NEXT

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400% Pay Raise

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

2 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

2 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

3 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

3 hours ago

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to Be Sentenced on October 3

3 hours ago

Israeli Military Says It Struck Key Hamas Figure in Lebanon’s Tripoli

3 hours ago

Madera County Sheriff Logs 29 Fire-Related Calls on Fourth of July, Most in 5 Years

3 hours ago

Trump Says He May Take Over Governance of Washington, DC

4 hours ago

Judge Orders CVS’ Omnicare Unit to Pay $949 Million Over Invalid Prescriptions

4 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

A massive wildfire burning near Highway 166 in San Luis Obispo County has scorched more than 80,615 acres since it ignited on July 2, CalFir...

44 minutes ago

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned more than 80,615 acres, injured one firefighter, and prompted multiple evacuation orders as crews work to contain the growing wildfire. (CalFire)
44 minutes ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Near New Cuyama Grows to 80,615 Acres, 35% Contained

U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein appears in a photograph taken for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services' sex offender registry March 28, 2017 and obtained by Reuters July 10, 2019. New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
1 hour ago

US Justice Department Scrambles to Defend Its About-Face on Release of Epstein Files

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Supreme Court Lifts Order That Blocked Trump’s Mass Federal Layoffs

President Donald Trump holds the key to the FIFA Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

Vials are seen in this undated handout photo. Pfizer/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
2 hours ago

Trump Says Pharmaceutical Tariffs Could Reach 200%

A drone view shows the Guadalupe River and damage from flooding near Camp Mystic, in Hunt, Texas, U.S. July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Evan Garcia)
2 hours ago

Rescue Teams Find Three More Bodies After Central Texas Floods

Rigoberto Simental Aguilar is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 8, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rigoberto Simental Aguilar

FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin are seen during the G20 leaders summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci/File Photo
3 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Not Happy With Russia’s Putin, Considering Sanctions

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend