At Nebraska, coach Scott Frost mentioned the “carnage and consequences” that could occur should the Big Ten cancel the coming season in making an impassioned case for enabling the Cornhuskers to play in the fall– and if the conference didnt concur, Frost stated, the program stood “prepared to look at any and all options.”
At Penn State, coach James Franklin said it was his “obligation” to assist his players “chase their dreams,” which “the very best decision today isnt to cancel the season” however to “postpone, look for clearness, construct the safest environment for our men.”
At Michigan, Jim Harbaugh pointed out “the facts collected over the last eight weeks” since his team went back to campus, including an extended stretch without any positive test results for the coronavirus amongst players and personnel.
” This isnt easy,” Harbaugh stated in a declaration. “This is hard. It is proven that the conduct, discipline and structure within our program have resulted in these stellar outcomes.”
And at Ohio State, coach Ryan Day said that the Buckeyes “need to take a look at every choice” if the Big Ten does postpone the season.
” We can not cancel the season today,” stated Day. “We need to at the least delay it and offer us some time to keep reevaluating everything that is going on.”
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As the Big Tens season seemed to limp towards its cancellation on Monday, numerous of the leagues greatest names pressed against the dominating arguments for aborting the season to offer an argument for proceeding as prepared– or a minimum of postponing the leagues choice.
” If I had a boy, I would want him playing football,” Frost stated. “I believe this is the most safe place he might be, and a lot of schools around the conference most likely feel the exact same way, that the best environment we can put these guys in is an environment where theyre being kept track of continuously, being evaluated, being checked, being taken care of, being protected if they do get ill.”.
In speaking up, the counterargument provided by coaches and several players might add to Big Ten university presidents reevaluating the straight-out cancellation of the upcoming season and instead opting on Tuesday to delay and buy extra time to think about the leagues choices.
With announcements gotten out of the Big Ten and Pac-12, Tuesday is shaping up to be a definitive moment in the history of college athletics.
The Big Ten has 3 choices: to cancel the season, to once again delay any choice or to proceed as currently prepared. The league has actually given little indicator that the final alternative remains on the table.
The conference can no longer present the sort of unified front that welcomed every choice made for much of the past 5 months, from the suspension of spring drills in March to the resumption of group activities this summer season.
Instead, the Big Ten now resembles college football as an entire, with groups at chances over what course to take as September looms and no true option for how to deal with the numerous health and wellness issues that will develop by playing in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
This dissension may assist shift the conversation far from canceling the season. Nebraskas chancellor and athletics director are “dedicated to play football,” Frost stated. According to a report by Cleveland.com, inbound Ohio State president Kristina Johnson would vote against cancellation.
The public and vocal statements made on Monday mirror what Big Ten coaches have actually been stating amongst peers or throughout internal university discussions since July, including over teleconferences and in conferences with university administrators.
The message was amplified by political leaders within and beyond the leagues footprint, including President Trump, who said on Twitter, “The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled,” later including,” “Play College Football!”.
As a conference, the Big Ten exists on a various schedule than many of the Power Five due to the decision to start the routine season on the first weekend of September. Other conferences, such as the SEC, chosen to not play until the last weekend of the month– with the later start amounting to increased scheduling flexibility when compared to the Big Ten.
This shortened timeline up until the start of the routine season has required the Big Ten to think about earlier than a number of other members of the Power Five whether its possible to play amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Chief amongst the leagues issues is the growing awareness among universities of the potential long-term health problems that might arise from COVID-19, significantly myocarditis, swelling that can harm the heart and inflame muscle.
” The medical specialists that were leaning on are the ones that are directing our choices,” stated Frost.
” This isnt easy,” Harbaugh stated in a declaration. It is proven that the conduct, discipline and structure within our program have actually led to these stellar outcomes.”
This dissension might assist shift the discussion away from canceling the season. Nebraskas chancellor and sports director are “dedicated to play football,” Frost said. According to a report by Cleveland.com, inbound Ohio State president Kristina Johnson would vote against cancellation.
