Big Ten to play in October of 2020; The Pac 12 among group of undecided conferences

 The coronavirus pandemic has been one that has been the cause of cancellation for many events such as the 2020 summer Olympics, the last time we saw the summer Olympics get postponed/ cancelled was in 1940 and 1944 due to World War 2.

      College football has been cancelled/postponed with a split decision making process for the NCAA as some divisions have put a pause to the season such as the Big 12, SEC, and ACC.       Meanwhile other conferences have cancelled the season such as the Pac 12 headlining the group.

      The college football landscape has been flipped on its head due to the coronavirus pandemic and it has left teams and conferences torn, 54 of the 130 division 1 teams have cancelled/ postponed football for the fall season, however many teams have not completely ruled out football.  this change is one that affects many people from fans to players.

      “So much of their identity is tied up in their sport,” Brandy Clouse , the football athletic trainer for Georgia Southern University claimed about his players during the lockdown. He added that the loss of an athletic identity has left athletes puzzled and feeling as though they have no direction.

      Nick Sawyer, an athlete at North Harford High School,  claims the cancellation “takes a year of footage” for him to display to colleges that he would like to apply for.      Garret Reinecke, varsity running back for North Harford, adds “not being able to show out for other colleges” is “very upsetting.”     

      The Big Ten has reversed their decision to cancel in favor of a postponed season starting as early as October 23.     This change has come after each of the 14 teams in the Big Ten unanimously decided to start the season with no fans in the stadiums.       The Big 12 to start their season September 10 with Miami and UAB looking to start the season off healthy.       With more and more teams and conferences reopening by the week it seems as though we will have a college football season after all.

            There are still concerns of health within the team between the coaches and players and Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren stated, “It became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall” meanwhile also claiming “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.”