There will be Big Ten football this fall after the conference’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously to begin the 2020 season the weekend of Oct. 23-24.
The decision comes five weeks after the Big Ten suspended football and all other fall sports due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
The return to competition has been a long time coming for Indiana football coach Tom Allen.
“We are beyond excited to get back on the football field,” Allen said in a press release. “Our players have kept their focus and attacked workouts waiting for this day.”
With a rigorous testing program in place, the conference says the time is now to resume playing football.
“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 ands surrounding communities,” said Jim Borchers, the head team physician at Ohio State and co-chair of the Return to Competition Task Force medical subcommittee, in a release.
All athletes, coaches, trainers and related staff will be undergo comprehensive cardiac baseline testing to study the effects of the virus on the heart and be tested for antigens daily. A positive COVID-19 test would sideline a player for at least 21 days.
The task force established positivity rate markers for teams and total populations that will determine whether to alter or halt practices or games. If positivity rates climb above 5% for teams and 7.5% for population, teams would have to stop practices and competition for at least a week.
“From the outset, we have relied on and followed the guidance of our expert medical professionals in determining when it was safe to return to football competitions,” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said in a press release. “I am very confident in their recommendations and appreciate their dedication to keeping our students, coaches, fans and communities safe.”
Each school will play eight games, plus a cross-over game on Dec. 19 to coincide with the Big Ten championship game. That means the No. 2 team in the West Division will play the No. 2 team in the East, the No. 3 in West will play the No. 3 in East, and so on.
The Big Ten became the first Power 5 conference to suspended fall sports Aug. 11 by an 11-3 vote, with Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa voting to keep playing. The Pac-12 followed later in the day by suspending its season, but the Southeastern Conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12 chose to continue playing although numerous games have been postponed due to the virus.
“Our focus with the Task Force over the last six weeks was to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes. Our goal has always been to return to competition so all student-athletes can realize their dream of competing in the sports they love,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said in a release.
The league said an announcement on the resumption of other fall and winter sports would be forthcoming.
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