The circus-like back-and-forth about the Big Ten presidents’ vote and whether it happened was a sight to see.
Finally two days ago it was cleared up in a Big Ten statement that said the presidents “voted to postpone the fall sports season” and “reached an 11-3 decision which far exceeds the 60% threshold required by the Big Ten By-Laws.”
ESPN senior college football writer Adam Rittenberg followed this statement with a report that three schools voted to not postpone the season: Iowa, Ohio State and Nebraska.
League sources tell ESPN that #Nebraska, #OhioState and #Iowa are the three schools that voted against postponing the fall season. This will surprise absolutely no one who has followed the story.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 31, 2020
If you’ve been following the story at all this news doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as all three schools listed above have been adamant since the decision was made that the conference should be playing football.
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The information coming out now, though, is valuable for everyone who has followed the story. But it still doesn’t make much sense why this wasn’t reported when the decision first came down.
There were media reports saying there was a vote, then reports that there wasn’t, then was, and so on. Being transparent during a process like this, one which led to a verdict that has far-reaching implications, is necessary for the health of the sport from top to bottom.
Again it’s good the information was finally released. It just shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit to get it out.
More will come out in the coming days about the Big Ten’s plan forward and their process of postponing. We can only hope, then, that the conference and those involved are transparent during this process and work together to reach the best way forward.