EAST LANSING, MICH (NewsNation Now) — The Big Ten will play football this season, sources told NewsNation affiliate WLNS.
Sources confirmed that football practice will likely start within two weeks with games starting around Oct. 17.
The season would include eight games, with the top teams in each division playing each other for the Big Ten Championship, the source said.
University presidents and chancellors have been meeting at the Big Ten headquarters in suburban Chicago. The presidents met Sunday to discuss the latest in medical protocols and testing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
On Tuesday, the University of Wisconsin President Rebecca Blank spoke to a Senate subcommittee on college athlete compensation and said the league’s stance will not change until leaders are more confident they can keep their athletes safe.
“There were several main reasons for that,” Blank said. “One was that we were uncertain we could do the level of testing and contact tracing that we needed to keep athletes safe. Secondly, there was this growing evidence about heart-related myocarditis and that evidence was uncertain and it wasn’t clear what it means and we wanted to know more. There were a few other minor reasons.”
Both the Big 10 and Pac-12 postponed all their fall sports at the beginning of August.
Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren had previously released an open letter Aug. 19 saying fall sports, including football, will not come back this fall.
The decision was a costly one for some Big 10 schools. The Ohio State University was prepared for a $130 million decline in athletics revenue in 2021 due to the postponed fall athletics season.
The story is developing. Refresh for updates.
NewsNation affiliates WCMH and WLNS contributed to this report.