Big Ten and Pac-12 Postpone Fall Football Season

The GIST: After much back and forth, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have officially postponed all fall sports and will instead look to play a spring football season. Meanwhile, the remaining three conferences in the Power Five still plan to play sports this fall. Unsurprisingly, there’s a range of reactions to the news.

Damn! Tell me more: Sure thing. Following the postponement announcements from the Big Ten and Pac-12, the ACC, SEC and Big 12 conferences all doubled down on plans to move forward with their fall football seasons...for now. The Big 12 released a revised schedule yesterday, along with plans for enhanced COVID-19 testing (umm, only now?). The ACC and SEC both released statements that their plans remain unchanged.

• Despite the Big Ten’s decision, Nebraska threw a tantrum announced that they would try to play football this fall, even if that means playing outside of their conference. It’s not clear whether that’s actually possible, but with so much money at stake, other teams might try to do the same.

Are all sports impacted?: Yes. Seemingly lost in the college football chaos is the fact that the postponements include all fall sports. Big Ten and Pac-12 athletes in soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country won’t compete until the spring, at the earliest.

• The Pac-12 went a step further, postponing all competition until 2021. Because winter sports actually start up during the fall semester, fan favorites like basketball and tennis will also be delayed. Please, no more madness in 2021!