The Big Ten has announced they are removing all non-conference games from their 2020-2021 schedules. In response, the ACC, the Pac-12 are expected to follow suit very shortly. These schedule changes are obviously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and how dangerous travel has become.
247sports’ Brandon Marcello reported the news via Twitter on Thursday.
Conference-only schedules are inevitable in FBS. ACC and Pac-12 reportedly set to follow Big Ten in coming hours/days.
Appears 10-game schedules will be the first try.
Adjust, adjust and adjust.
Delay, delay, delay until you can’t play.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) July 9, 2020
He went on to tweet later, that the SEC did not know this decision was coming. They will apparently discuss doing the same, although they plan on waiting as long as possible until doing so.
It is unclear how exactly this will change the college football season. It is assumed that the season will be shortened to eight games, with no travel outside of a college’s conference. This will cut down on travel risk, but will certainly not remove all inherent problems regarding the contagion factor.
The Ivy League has already cancelled all fall sports, with an evaluation of winter sports to take place on January 1. While the bigger conferences have not committed to that degree, it is worth noting that the Ivy League was the first to cancel their men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and withdraw from the NCAA championship. These decisions created a domino effect in college and professional sports which may be starting again.
Featured Image courtesy of NCAA
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