MADISON – The Big Ten Conference has decided to move the 2020 football season from the league to the second half.
Several sources told Journal Sentinel that an announcement is expected earlier this week.
According to several reports, Big Ten presidents and chancellors were due to meet on Sunday to discuss the league’s plans to shut down fall sports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Wisconsin is scheduled to host its first preseason training camp on Monday.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren is reportedly a supporter of transferring the 2020 football season to the spring semester.
However, league officials would have to overcome a myriad of obstacles to stage even a modified season in the spring. These include inclement weather issues and whether players would choose not to participate in the season in order to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, which is scheduled to run from April 29 to May 1.
If the Big Ten announces the closure of fall sports on Monday, the move will come just five days after the league unveiled a revamped 10-game football schedule, along with detailed protocols for COVID-19 testing.
This quick turnaround would surely force Warren to explain what has changed since the calendar was released.
Saturday’s Mid-American conference became the first FBS conference to announce it was moving football and other sports from fall to spring.
Several Big Ten schools opened a preseason soccer camp last week, but on Saturday the league announced players would be banned from wearing any protective gear other than a helmet. This decision was taken to prevent full contact work in the camp.
Six of the 14 Big Ten football teams have been forced to stop summer training due to positive tests.
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