Much has been made about what conferences will do in 2020 if some member schools aren’t able to have a football team ready for the season. as Thursday saw the ACC Commissioner admit they would proceed without those unable to go.
Friday, the president at a Big Ten member school and chair of the Big Ten’s council of presidents/chancellors, spoke to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg about his expectations for Big Ten football in 2020.
#Northwestern president Morton Schapiro, who chairs the Big Ten's council of presidents/chancellors, told me today, "I don’t see that we’re going to have a Big Ten [football] season with 12 of the 14 schools playing. I’d be surprised if we play and it’s not all 14 of us."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) May 15, 2020
Schapiro clarified his statement shortly after:
To clarify, Schapiro expects all 14 schools to be able to play this fall, unless state policies prohibit campuses from opening. https://t.co/EhzbRI7ztX
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) May 15, 2020
Schapiro also noted that the Big Ten presidents and chancellors have their annual meeting on June 7 and that he expects that to be a key date for the fall sports season.
“We are going to work out a lot of things” Schapiro told Rittenberg.
It seems like quite a stance to take with the Big Ten having both Northwestern and Rutgers as members, as Chicago and New York City both remain hot-beds for COVID-19.
Notre Dame is scheduled to play just one Big Ten school in 2020 as they travel to Green Bay to take on Wisconsin on October 3.