Big Ten Commissioner writes open letter to athletes, families and fans

“I am writing on this occasion to share additional information with you regarding the Big Ten Conference’s decision to postpone the 2020-21 bankruptcy season. We understand and deeply appreciate what sports mean to our student-athletes, their families, our coaches and our fans. The vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP / C) was overwhelming in support of the postponement of falls and will not be re-examined. The decision was detailed and deliberative, and based on sound feedback, guidance and advice from medical experts. Despite the decision to suspend bankruptcy sports, we continue our work to find a way forward that creates a healthy and safe environment for all Big Ten student-athletes to participate in the sports they practice. a way that helps spread COVID-19 and protects both student-athletes and the surrounding communities. As you are well aware, we are dealing with a complex global pandemic with the SARS-CoV-2 virus discovered in November 2019. The first medically confirmed cases did not appear in the United States until January 2020. Over the past seven months, the US has recorded more than 5.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in more as 170,000 dead, with more than 22 million confirmed cases and 780,000 lives lost around the world. We understand the disappointment and questions about the timing of our decision to suspend bankruptcy sports, especially in light of the release of a football schedule just six days before that decision. From the outset, we have consistently communicated our efforts to carefully continue one day at a time with the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes at the center of our decision-making. Therefore, we simultaneously took paths in releasing the football schedule, while also controlling the spread of the virus, testing, and medical concerns, as student-athletes transitioned to practice with full contact. While several factors contributed to the decision to postpone the 2020-21 bankruptcy season, the crux of our decision was the knowledge that there was too much medical uncertainty and too many unknown health risks regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection and its impact. of which on our student-athletes. Below are the primary factors that led to the Big Ten COP / C decision:

Transmission rates continue at an alarming rate with little indication from medical experts that our campuses, communities or country can gain control over the spread of the virus prior to competition.

While our teams began to prepare for intensive practices, many of our medical staff did not think that the interventions we had planned would be sufficient to reduce the potential spread, even with very regular testing.

While the general student body is returning to campus, spread to student athletes could re-introduce infection into our athletic community.

There’s just too much we do not know about the virus, recovery from infection and long term effects. Although the data on cardiomyopathy are preliminary and incomplete, the uncertain risk was currently unacceptable.

Concerns about contact tracing still exist, including the inability to social distance in contact sports according to the guidelines of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While processes for risk mitigation (e.g., physical distance, face covering, appropriate hygiene, etc.) across campus can be implemented for the student body population, it became clear that these processes could not be fully implemented in contact sports.

With the onset of full contact practice and competitions, it became increasingly clear that contact tracking and quarantine risked frequent and significant disruptions to the practice and competition calendar.

Accurate and widely available rapid testing can help reduce those concerns, but access to accurate testing is currently limited.

Major concerns also exist about the test delivery chain, in general, for many of our institutions.

Financial considerations did not affect the COP / C decision, as the postponement will have enormous negative financial implications. We understand the passion of many student-athletes and their families who were disappointed by the decision, but also know that there are many who have a lot of worries and fears regarding the pandemic. Going forward, we will continue to build on the framework that our medical professionals have developed over the past five months, while taking the opportunity to learn more about the virus and its effects. As we expand on a plan to engage our student-athletes as soon as it is safe to do so, we will maintain our focus on creating protocols and standards established and established by our medical advisors who respond to the evaluated medical care by our COP / C. In addition, the Big Ten Conference has compiled a Return to Competition Task Force, consisting of members of the COP / C, sports medicine and university medical staff, Athletic directors, head coaches, Faculty Athletic Representatives and Senior Women Managers to plan for the return of the bankruptcy league as soon as possible. When evaluating winter / spring models, we will examine many factors, including the number of football matches that can reasonably be played from a health perspective in an entire calendar year, while maintaining a premium competitive experience for our student-athletes who end up on a Big Ten Championship. The Big Ten Conference will continue to gather feedback from student-athletes, families, and other constituencies and will remain in active conversations with its television partners about all future plans. We have tremendous appreciation and understanding of what participating in sports means to our student-athletes, their families, our campus communities and our fans. We will continue to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes. We appreciate the passion of the Big Ten community and will commit this energy to providing the best possible experience for all Big Ten student athletes. ”