Report: Big Ten to cancel 2020 season
The Big Ten won't be playing football in 2020.
The conference's presidents have voted to cancel the fall football season due to concerns about playing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sources told Orion Sang, David Jesse, Chris Solari, and Chris Thomas of the Detroit Free Press.
While a formal announcement is reportedly coming Tuesday, a spokesman told Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel that a vote has yet to take place.
Just got a text from a Big Ten spokesman. "No vote has been held by our presidents and chancellors." Hence, the Big Ten watch continues.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 10, 2020
The reported decision makes the Big Ten the first Power 5 conference to opt against staging a campaign. It's reportedly attempting to coordinate its announcement with the other major conferences.
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren apparently prefers to hold a spring football season, but a final decision has not been made.
The reported vote to cancel the season follows a late push by players to salvage the campaign. Star quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields led a social media campaign late Sunday that saw student-athletes call for the formation of a players' union and the implementation of other return-to-play protocols.
The Mid-American Conference became the first FBS conference to postpone its fall athletics season Saturday.