Big Ten cancels football games; ACC could follow

Bob
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Posted on: July 10, 2020 6:01 pm EDT

The conference will only hold inter-conference games this fall

In an attempt to gain control in hopes of being able to run the league amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Big Ten just announced that it would get separated from the rest. As most college football for 2020 seems to have collapsed, to look for smaller, more cautious scenarios seems to make a lot of sense. The league confirmed that it will not be playing any games outside of its conference and that it will play with nine or ten teams that are part of the league only. This is the first time something like this is attempted, so it is still uncertain if it will work as expected.

Other conferences like PAC-12 and ACC might be considering following the same path as the Big Ten. Basically, everyone else will do the same as nobody is trying to run anything normally anymore but, instead, trying to do what they can to adapt in the best way possible. “Just trying to keep the lights on,” said one ACC athletic director. “Trying’ is the [keyword].”

Other people are seeing the chances of having any college football this year from a more pessimistic perspective, as multiple sources are beginning to question whether any season will be played at all, even though they all want it and need it. Most organizers are desperate for the revenue that is being lost and that the operation needs to run.

“We may not have sports in the fall,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said on the Big Ten Network.
He added, “We may not have a college football season. We made a vow early on that, first and foremost, we would put the health, the safety and the wellness of our student-athletes at the center of all of our decisions.” Hopefully, the decision is to follow through with that nine-team idea to have at least some college football this year, which is better than nothing.