The Big Ten's plan to return to competition appears to be coming together quite nicely, with The Wolverine reporting yesterday the league is close to a re-vote to reinstate the fall football season, and that it'll likely happen this week.
Another positive sign popped up again Tuesday, when University of Nebraska President Ted Carter said an announcement of the Husker football season will come Tuesday evening.
"We're getting ready to announce the Huskers and Big Ten football tonight," he said.
Carter was set to speak at a news conference in Lincoln and was speaking with Bob Hinson, director of the National Strategic Research Institute, with the quote being caught on a hot mic.
"It's coming together," he added.
RELATED: ITF EXTRA: The Latest On Big Ten Plans, RB Depth & More
RELATED: Michigan Football, The 3-2-1: Who Are The Big Ten Decision Makers?
It’s important to note that though Carter is close with Nebraska Chancellor Ronnie Green, he does not have a vote to cast regarding whether or not to play.
On Saturday, the Big Ten medical subcommittee presented new testing programs to a subcommittee of conference presidents and chancellors, detailing protocol options that were not available back on Aug. 11 when the conference decided to postpone football as well as all fall sports. The presentation was reportedly met positively by the subcommittee of presidents and chancellors.
Though Carter indicated that the season will in fact be reinstated, it's unclear when it will begin. There has been reports that the conference is targeting October, with the most likely date for the first games being Oct. 17.
Beginning the Big Ten football season in October — on Oct. 24 at the latest — would give league teams a chance to be selected to the College Football Playoff, which will release its final set of rankings on Sunday, Dec. 20.
"Moving forward, we will continue to build upon the framework that our medical experts have developed over the past five months while we take the opportunity to learn more about the virus and its effects," league commissioner Kevin Warren wrote in an open letter to the Big Ten community on Aug. 19. "As we expand upon a plan to allow our student-athletes to compete as soon as it is safe to do so, we will keep our focus on creating protocols and standards set forth and established by our medical advisors that are responsive to the medical concerns evaluated by our COP/C."
Look for more from TheWolvrine.com on these developments in the hours to come.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook