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The Mid-American Conference is perhaps not the biggest domino to fall today. Not even close.
Yahoo.com’s Pete Thamel reports that Big Ten school chairmen will meet on Saturday, and that “all options are on the table. ”Including cancellation of the fall season.
Thamel reports that it is not known if there is enough support to make that decision today. Yet it feels like that decision is being made irrevocably.
The Big Ten recently decided to launch a 10-game, conference-only schedule on September 10th. That’s less than four weeks from now.
Thamel also notes that the conference has announced that it will not proceed to padded practices, and that the conference wants “further evaluation” before allowing players to participate in football with full contact.
Wisconsin has canceled the practice until Monday, and former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez recently provided a sobering assessment of the situation to Thamel.
“I’m scared,” Alvarez said. “There are so many unanswered questions. I see things change every day. We have invested so much. I have a grandson to play with. I am invested in every student-athlete on our campus. I want them to be safe. . . . I owe everything I have to football in college. I am the most positive person in the world. My wife said to me today, ‘You are suddenly half a glass empty.’ I do not like it that way. “
The Big Ten seems to be by far the most cautious and conscientious of the Power Five conferences when it comes to navigating the pandemic. Recently on PFT Live, Peter King credits this attitude to new Commissioner Kevin Warren, former COO of the Vikings.
None of this means that the ACC as the SEC will leave its cash cloud in the name of security, but if the Big Ten closes and if the NCAA cancels championships, it will get harder and harder for the conferences that attend. to continue playing with the abuse of violence that college football at great time is about anything other than chasing at big dollars.
