According to a note from Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic on Twitter, the Big Ten expects to announce today (July 9) that it will go to a conference-only football schedule for the 2020 season, due to concerns with COVID-19.
The Big Ten is expected to announce today that it will go with a conference-only football schedule for this fall, a person with direct knowledge situation tells @TheAthleticCFB.
— Nicole Auerbach 😷 (@NicoleAuerbach) July 9, 2020
As of right now, four ACC football programs were scheduled to play against a Big Ten opponent during the non-conference portion of the 2020 schedule. However, that seems to no longer be the case. Here’s a look at those three matchups; all of which were set to occur in September.
- Boston College
- Purdue, 9/26
- Syracuse
- Rutgers, 9/12
- Miami
- Michigan State, 9/26
- Virginia Tech
- Penn State, 9/12
From its unique schedule, Notre Dame has just one Big Ten matchup currently on the books for 2020: Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on Oct. 3.
Not long after Auerbach’s report, further confirmation on the Big Ten’s decision came via ESPN. The ESPN report also states that the conference-only schedule will extend beyond football; all fall sports will adhere to the policy.
Breaking: The Big Ten decided that a conference-only season for all fall sports, including football is the most likely outcome, a source with knowledge of the discussions told @CFBHeather and @Mark_Schlabach. https://t.co/yyfdYXjgVN pic.twitter.com/S1iA8cfIEb
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 9, 2020
Read More on College Athletics and COVID-19
UNC temporarily suspends football workouts due to cluster of positive test results