As we continue to keep our eyes and ears on where college football is headed this fall, news has come out from the Big Ten that it plans to make a decision on fall sports, and fall college football camp specifically in the “next five days.”
This, according to a letter sent to conference athletic directors on Thursday by Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and Chris Kratochvil, the chair of the conference’s task force for emerging infectious diseases, that was reported by Eleven Warriors.
From the letter per Eleven Warriors:
“We will not, and cannot, proceed with preseason camp until we are certain that we can do so safely and that will depend, in part, on testing,” the letter states. “Once we have everything in place to execute our testing protocols effectively, including the appropriate number of tests secured for all fall sports, we can make a decision as to whether preseason camp will begin as currently scheduled.”
“If we determine as a Conference that it is not prudent to compete in the fall of 2020, we will not do so, much like our decision in March 2020 to cancel the Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis,” the letter states. “Our final decision will be rooted in guidance from medical experts and in consultation with institutional leadership, student-athletes, coaches and appropriate federal, state, and local authorities.”
The Big Ten plans to make a decision on preseason camp “within the next 5 days” and remains hopeful to start fall sports in September, with schedules to be released in August. https://t.co/7ZKkW7ncfs
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 31, 2020
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There have also been rumors and sources cited alluding to a conference-only schedule release within the next couple of days, but that doesn’t necessarily appear to be a locked in decision based on language within the letter.
“Administrators, coaches, and Conference staff have been working daily to create schedules that provide the appropriate levels of flexibility to respond in real-time to necessary changes,” states the letter. “While we remain hopeful for a start in September 2020, flexibility has been created within our scheduling models to accommodate necessary adjustments. Consistent with our collective need to be adaptable to changes in circumstances and evolving medical knowledge, even issuing a schedule does not guarantee that competition will occur.”
Stay with us as more becomes known on this, most specifically within the next five days. It should be interesting.
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