Scratch the Maryland Game: B1G Going to Conference-only Schedule for all Fall Sports This Year

[j66kicker]

...including football.

Big Ten going to conference-only slate this fall

Big Ten athletic directors and presidents have decided on moving to a conference-only model for all fall sports, including football.

www.espn.com

 

[eebmg]

So it seems every modification is on the table from the disappearance of all OOC games to greatly modified NCAA Tournament. (Less teams / single venue??)

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I don't see how it works. They're whistling in the graveyard.

Only "conference" games? But that "conference" covers a third of the nation. How is that a restriction? How does it increase student safety?

I'm guessing that this is a vain attempt to keep the season alive. Not optimistic....

 

[UConnCat]

This announcement says nothing about basketball. Something similar may happen for basketball but focus now is on fall sports.

Will any fall sports actually be played in the fall? Not the way things are going in this country.

 

[sivad40]

 

[triaddukefan]

At this point, I'm thinking the next sporting event I'll be able to attend will be in the fall of 2021. (hopefully)

 

[Monte]

If this indecisiveness continues, and it is decided that the basketball season should be shortened, I believe that only LEAGUE games should be played.
If you agree to join a league, then that is your primary commitment.

 

[visitingcock]

Honestly, I think no games will be played til January 1. Then, it will be conference games plus whatever you squeeze in.

I think SCar at UConn will squeeze through because both conferences want that TV money

 

[bluedevil]

At this point, I'm thinking the next sporting event I'll be able to attend will be in the fall of 2021. (hopefully)

There is always the world series of poker and the july4 hot dog eating contest...

 

[UcMiami]

I live in a college town (Storrs) and I am not looking forward to the fall. Right now the county is in a pretty good place with few new cases and the town is as always in summer almost empty. Feels kind of safe. Add 20,000 undergraduates from all over the state and country, and ...

Colleges are experimenting right now with 100s of athletes coming in for work-outs and it isn't looking very pretty, multiply that by 10 or more and it will be much worse. And a lot of colleges are talking about a fall semester that ends at Thanksgiving because they don't want kids traveling for that break and then coming back again. How they figure sending their athletes out even restricted to conference locations is going to be a good idea is a little weird. Right now the NE looks better than just about anywhere else, but who knows what it will look like in a month or three.

I think the landscape is going to keep changing and decisions made today will be revisited frequently.

 

[Alydar]

I don't see how it works. They're whistling in the graveyard.

Only "conference" games? But that "conference" covers a third of the nation. How is that a restriction? How does it increase student safety?

I'm guessing that this is a vain attempt to keep the season alive. Not optimistic....

I think has more to do with wanting the same covid rules used by both teams. Conferences are covering their asses and acting conservatively. For the P-5, if football goes south then no sport is safe.

 

[cohenzone]

It’s currently fantasyland no matter how schedules are done. Schools that start play might have to stop. So little certainty.

 

[Steelerone]

There is always the world series of poker and the july4 hot dog eating contest...

Blue, don't forget the Curling matchup between The Ottowa icebergs and the Duluth Snowcaps. It's my understanding that they are going to pre-emp Dr. Phil and Judge Judy to show it in it's entirety,

 

[Bigboote]

I don't see how it works. They're whistling in the graveyard.

Only "conference" games? But that "conference" covers a third of the nation. How is that a restriction? How does it increase student safety?

I'm guessing that this is a vain attempt to keep the season alive. Not optimistic....

It’s certainly not based on science. As an epidemiologist said to me, 90% social distancing might’s well be 10%, and 50% close to zero.

A bubble works if everyone is all-in, but I can’t imagine every football team, including all the managers and coaches, will be in a bubble. So every player in the game is effectively exposed to all the people the opposing players are exposed to and vice-versa. And so on.

 

[cohenzone]

It’s certainly not based on science. As an epidemiologist said to me, 90% social distancing might’s well be 10%, and 50% close to zero.

A bubble works if everyone is all-in, but I can’t imagine every football team, including all the managers and coaches, will be in a bubble. So every player in the game is effectively exposed to all the people the opposing players are exposed to and vice-versa. And so on.

A portion of our population doesn’t understand or want to understand how a virus works and are thinking you can screw around with how transmission works. One guy in New Rochelle caused a local epidemic. You can have an assault rifle with 99 blank rounds and one live round and sooner or later the live round does damage. With this virus, one live round can have many more victims than one live round from that assault rifle. You’d have to test the athletes frequently. The potential for schedule disruption is constantly present.

 

[Golden Husky]

Drip, drip, drip.

 

[UConnCat]

 

[thatguyed]

Blue, don't forget the Curling matchup between The Ottowa icebergs and the Duluth Snowcaps. It's my understanding that they are going to pre-emp Dr. Phil and Judge Judy to show it in it's entirety,

Not sure that can happen as it means hopping the border.

 

[willtalk]

Blue, don't forget the Curling matchup between The Ottowa icebergs and the Duluth Snowcaps. It's my understanding that they are going to pre-emp Dr. Phil and Judge Judy to show it in it's entirety,

Who would want to see a bunch of hairdressers competing ins a styling contest.

 

[j66kicker]

Duke coach suggesting ACC do conference-only football.

Duke's Cutcliffe favors only conference games

Duke football coach David Cutcliffe said he remains "very optimistic" there will be college football this season, but he doubts it will look much like a normal season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

www.espn.com

One talk radio school of thought is all the P5 got together and agreed to this before the B1G announced, and all will fall in line. Seems like this could be happening. IMO all this is just going through the motions anyway, before they ultimately have to cancel/postpone the season.

Irish AD: On-time start to season 'less likely'

Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick said his belief that the college football season will start on time has "grown more pessimistic" and that it is "less likely" with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

www.espn.com

 

[Alydar]

Duke coach suggesting ACC do conference-only football.

Duke's Cutcliffe favors only conference games

Duke football coach David Cutcliffe said he remains "very optimistic" there will be college football this season, but he doubts it will look much like a normal season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

www.espn.com

One talk radio school of thought is all the P5 got together and agreed to this before the B1G announced, and all will fall in line. Seems like this could be happening. IMO all this is just going through the motions anyway, before they ultimately have to cancel/postpone the season.

Irish AD: On-time start to season 'less likely'

Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick said his belief that the college football season will start on time has "grown more pessimistic" and that it is "less likely" with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

www.espn.com

And I'm sure that the broadcasters have had no role in this? (I'm sure that there is an honest concern for the students and univ personnel). The money comes from advertisers and trickles down from there. ESPN stands to get hammered. We always hear about the billions they pay for the rights but never what they get paid.
It's well that Disney is opening.

 

[eebmg]

Next Domino

The Pac-12’s decision extends to all sports like the Big Ten’s. It’s also postponing the start of mandatory athletic activities for all fall sports “until a series of health and safety indicators, which have recently trended in a negative direction, provided sufficient positive data to enable a move to a second phase of return-to-play activities.”

Pac-12 follows Big Ten's lead and won't play non-conference games in 2020

The Big Ten said Thursday that it would only play conference games if it had fall sports seasons.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[UcMiami]

The interesting thing is that we live in a country with no federal mandated protocols for dealing with this pandemic so we end up with 50 different sets of rules imposed by states. Right now for example NY State, CT, and MA requires all people traveling from certain other states to quarantined for 14 days - hard for Syracuse, Uconn or BC for example to host out of state teams when those teams might need to sit alone for 14 days before the game! And who wants to travel to FL, TX, CA, SC, or AZ right now? This hopefully changes in a couple of months, but fall interstate sports sure look doubtful right now.

 

[UConnCat]

These P5 announcements about playing only conference opponents in football are pretty funny. Clemson can't play South Carolina but can travel to Boston to play Boston College. Maryland's game against Towson is cancelled but the Terps can fly to Chicago to play Northwestern. Utah's game against BYU is cancelled but it's game at UCLA is on!! Crazy stuff.

 

[UcMiami]

These P5 announcements about playing only conference opponents in football are pretty funny. Clemson can't play South Carolina but can travel to Boston to play Boston College. Maryland's game against Towson is cancelled but the Terps can fly to Chicago to play Northwestern. Utah's game against BYU is cancelled but it's game at UCLA is on!! Crazy stuff.

Yeah - I think it would make a lot more sense if they want to play games to just scrap the whole idea of conference play and create new schedules within state/region. All games become bus trips. Give the athletes games and the networks/fans something to broadcast/watch. Might actually create a more fun vibe when no one was trying to win championships, but just enjoying competing.