The Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted 11-3 last month to shut down all Big Ten fall sports because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
According to CNN, the league’s presidents and chancellors are expected to vote Monday on whether its football teams can play a shortened season.
Reliable, rapid testing is reportedly what changed many schools’ minds. Leaders of the member universities met over the weekend to discuss health and safety.
If the conference does decide to play, teams could hit the field by October 17, which is several weeks later than the other conferences. Those other conferences are slated to play at least 10 games, while the Big Ten would only play eight, plus a Big Ten title game before the College Football Playoff selection committee meets to decide the Final Four on December 20.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said on his monthly radio show that, according to head coach Paul Chryst, UW would require only three weeks of prep time to play an opener. Currently, the football and men’s hockey workouts have been shut down for two weeks.
There’s no guarantee if football returns, that the Big Ten schools will make it to the end. But the conference is getting plenty of pressure from players, parents and politicians to at least try.
Several teams, including Virginia, Virginia Tech, TCU, SMU, North Carolina State, Baylor and Oklahoma State have been forced to postpone games already this season.
AUDIO: Barry Alvarez said they can get ready quickly :09
AUDIO: Barry Alvarez says they could be ready to play in two weeks :13