Big Ten, Pac-12 postpone fall football seasons amid coronavirus concerns
FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2019, file photo, the Big Ten logo is displayed on the field before an NCAA college football game between Iowa and Miami of Ohio in Iowa City, Iowa. The Big Ten released its 10-game conference-only football schedule beginning as early as Labor Day weekend but cautioned there is no certainty games will be played. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall
In a move that alters the landscape of college football, the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced Tuesday they are postponing fall sports amid concerns about COVID-19 with the hope of playing in the spring of 2021.
The decision to postpone takes two of college football's Power Five conferences off the field this fall. The three remaining conferences -- the SEC, ACC and Big 12 -- are moving forward with plans to play this fall. “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said. “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall.”
Big Ten coaches - including Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, Penn State's James Franklin, Ohio State's Ryan Day and Nebraska's Scott Frost — publicly advocated for playing the 2020 season on Monday. Those pleas were not enough to change the collective minds of Big Ten leaders.
The Big Ten made the announcement following a morning meeting of the conference's presidents. About an hour later, the Pac-12 said it was following suit. Neither conference unveiled a plan to return in the spring.
“All of the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors understand the importance of this decision, and the disappointment it will create for our student-athletes, the coaches, support staff and all of our fans,” Oregon president Michael H. Schill said. “ We certainly hope that the Pac-12 will be able to return to competition in the New Year.”
“I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. "I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.”
The move to shut down college athletics brought mixed reactions from across the country, including the oval office.
President Donald Trump, appearing Tuesday morning on Fox Sports Radio, said college football would be making a "tragic mistake" if the sport is not played this fall. Trump cited the youth and overall health of college players as factors that will help them avoid the most serious symptoms of the coronavirus.
“These football players are very young, strong people, and physically, I mean they're physically in extraordinary shape,” Trump said in the interview. “So they're not going to have a problem."
The first FBS conference to pull the plug on a fall season was the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, and then the Mountain West did the same on Monday.
On Long Island, Hans Weiderkehr, the father of Northwestern’s junior offensive tackle and Shoreham-Wading River graduate Ethan Weiderkehr, said the decision to cancel was disappointing.
Ethan Weiderkehr, 6-6 and 290 pounds, was a three-time Newsday All-Long Island selection and Zellner Award winner as Suffolk's top lineman in 2017. He had earned a starting role last year with the Wildcats and was looking to make an impact this season to get ready for the NFL draft.
“It takes a long time to get on the field because of the nature of the position Ethan plays and this was his year for playing time and now it’s canceled,” Hans Weiderkehr said. “That just adds to the disappointment for him personally. This is the beginning of the end for a lot of college sports. Football generates all the revenue and there will be a significant ripple effect that will ultimately have programs shut down. It’s small potatoes for what’s going on out there with the COVID pandemic. But that reality will deepen the wound. This is really devastating. It’s just the start of college athletics as a whole being in serious trouble.”
Hans Weiderkehr said his son is doing his best to keep things in perspective.
“We spoke and he was prepared for the reality of it, the potential of no season," Hans Weiderkehr said. "Ethan has no control over the decision and doesn’t know what the future holds and that’s scary. But in perspective, when people are dying, how important can sports really be?”
Weiderkehr’s wife Karen, a nurse manager in the endoscopy unit at Stony Brook University Hospital for 31 years, saw her unit turned into a COVID unit, in March, and lived the nightmare of the virus.
“She retired in the end of May after experiencing the brunt of the COVID on Long Island,” he said. “I’m proud of her. They got a handle on it and she was done. Ethan was home for a lot of it and got a real perspective on it. He just has to keep one foot in front of the other and hope for the best.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
