Winter, meet Big Ten football in the midst of trying to play during a global pandemic.
According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has confirmed the Big Ten’s plan of playing football this spring or winter involves the consideration of domed stadiums. There’s not a ton of those types of venues in the conference’s footprint, but there are those in Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minnesota. Indoor stadiums in St. Louis and even Syracuse, NY are also being considered.
The Dispatch reached out to Smith to confirm the report and got a text reply of “yes and others” when asked about those potential sites.
There has yet to be a plan or schedule disseminated for the return of football in the Big Ten, but according to other sources, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s proposal of starting in early January is starting to gain some traction among Big Ten officials and administrators, and may even be the preferred timing now.
One of the main concerns of a spring schedule is the extremely condensed timeline of a season and the 2021 NFL Draft. Those players that could be a part of the draft process may be more likely to play a season that begins and ends earlier, rather than playing one that ends or crosses over the dates for the NFL combine and draft.
The Big Ten is discussing several domes — Indy, Minneapolis, Detroit and even St. Louis and Syracuse — as potential sites for a winter football season, The Dispatch has learned. https://t.co/j9oagZoD50
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) August 26, 2020
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Another big concern would be the weather in a part of the country where the weather transitions somewhere between tolerable and awful during the deep throes of winter. Those concerns become even more of a concern in locations like Minneapolis and Madison.
Earlier this week, we heard reports from Sandy Barbour of Penn State that a schedule or further plan for a Big Ten winter or spring schedule could be coming out this week.
However, we still have yet to have any formal announcement from the league, but it does appear as things are beginning to take shape. And yes, they look like they’ll take on the shape of a few domes.
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