The cancellation of fall sports in the Big Ten has left nothing but uncertainty for the student-athletes of the league, with the consequences being most investigated from a football standpoint.
So what’s next for the footballers who now have no season to play this fall? There is no clear answer to that question, but there needs to be concrete answers from the NCAA and / or Big Ten to the questions below in the near future … for the sake of all Big Ten players.
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• How will the NCAA handle years of players? This one applies especially to the seniors of the fifth year; will all athletes just lose this year, or will they get one more in 2021?
If they are not, then all the players who were expected to senior in the fifth year in 2020 are just out of luck. Seniors, on the other hand, could technically redshirt and return as fifth-year seniors by 2021 by 2020, but it seems unlikely that many would do so, especially those with NFL aspirations.
The uncertainty ahead and whether there will even be a 2021 campaign or not, is another reason why players with any pro-aspiration are tougher than ever before.
• What are the chances of a football season occurring in the spring, as the Big Ten mentioned yesterday? Bad to no one. The Big Ten probably brought up this scenario just hope for the heartbroken athletes and coaches, but it was nothing more than a deflection; even they (the conference) know that this will not happen.
Somehow taking the season off in the spring would be a logistical nightmare, in connection with veterans preparing for the NFL Draft in April, dealing with exams and athletes preparing for graduation, it where, etc.
Perhaps the biggest stumbling block, however, is the fact that seniors / non-fifth-year seniors do not want to play for two or three months in the spring, and then turn around and play other season four months later in the fall.
The physical toll it would take would be extensive, and current and former collegiate and professional athletes have already tweeted that it is not possible.
Nice thread, Big Ten.
Can Big Ten teams play at another conference this fall? This is what Nebraska has head coach Scott Frost was very vocal on Monday, acknowledging that it was something his program would think about.
Head coach of Ohio State Ryan Day countered a similar sentiment today, especially when the ACCs are considered, planning to push Big 12 and SEC forward and play their seasons.
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren was asked yesterday by host of Big Ten Network Dave Revsine as a scenario like that would even be possible, and Warren dismissed the question altogether.
Revsine came back once more, simply to ask for a yes or no answer, but Warren avoided it again by proving that he understands many of the statements made in recent days (apparently referring to Frost and Nebraska) have been out of emotion and in the heat of the moment.
It does not seem plausible that a conference member could play in another league this fall, but then again, not very much makes sense in these mind-boggling times.
• Can Big Ten players transfer and allow to play directly at another school? This is often the case when a head coach is fired when a program is put on a ban after the season, with several of the school’s best players elsewhere on the way.
If the Big Ten and Pac-12 remain the only two conferences canceling their seasons, it would not be surprising to see exceptional athletes from those two conferences after the ACC, Big 12 and SEC.
It would be hard to blame them, especially if they are told they can play immediately upon transfer. Simply put, athletes want to participate, and will go wherever they need to go to do so.
This is a question that needs to be answered as soon as possible, although little time has been given as the three aforementioned conferences will not begin their seasons until mid to late September, as is currently planned.
Big ten rosters could be hit hard and potentially even decimated if the above scenario were to play out.
• What guarantees are there of a Big Ten season occurring in the fall of 2021? Simply put, no. One would hope that this whole virus procedure is then behind us, but many thought in the spring that it would not be in the fall either.
The fact that it has been dragging on for so long is discouraging, and there are no guarantees that this whole debacle will not be next fall. High school football players – especially those with potential NFL hopes – often need to have at least some plans for their future, and current circumstances do not allow that.
Again, the uncertainty over the future of Big Ten football and whether there will be an autumn season in 2021 is most impactful for the veteran players who have the option to go pro, but also to go back to college another year.
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