In another sign of the season we are in, the Big Ten has announced that its B1G Football Media Days will not be held as scheduled. It was initially supposed to be held in Chicago from July 22-23 with members of the media in person, along with players and coaches.
“Following discussions with Big Ten member institutions, the Big Ten Conference announced today that the 2020 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon scheduled to take place July 22-23 in Chicago will not be held as scheduled in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans, partners and media. The Conference will continue to monitor developing information and continue to consult with medical experts to determine the appropriate dates and format for our annual event,” the conference announced in a press release.
The 2020 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon scheduled to take place July 22-23 will not be held as scheduled in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans, partners and media.https://t.co/6zcTQVbxoi
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) May 22, 2020
The Big Ten is just another one of the major conferences to make a similar announcement. It’s still unknown whether the conference will move to a virtual format like the Big 12, Pac-12, AAC, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, and Sun Belt have.
The reason — as you can guess — is the COVID-19 pandemic.
The novel coronavirus has caused trouble for the NCAA and life in general, forcing the canceling of winter championships and spring sports including the annual madness of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
As for media days, this move makes sense given the lack of hotel spacing and the lack of seating that typically comes with these slam-packed days.