What They're Saying: Reaction To Big Ten's Cancellation Of Fall Sports
The Big Ten presidents voted Tuesday to postpone the fall football season and attempt to play in the spring. Michigan's Jim Harbaugh quickly reacted, sharing his disappointment in the decision, and many others across the sports world sounded off, as well.
Here's a look at the rest of the reaction from the Michigan community and around the country at the unprecedented decision made by the conference.
RELATED: Michigan Football Podcast: Skene & Balas On No Fall Football
RELATED: Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren Explains Decision To Cancel Fall Sports
Michigan Fifth-Year Senior DB Tyler Cochran On Instagram
Last year I decided to drop a class to come short of graduation by 1 credit to come back and play my final year of eligibility. Unfortunately, the incompetent Presidents of the @bigten decided, despite constant testing and strict protocols, that the voices of the players were irrelevant and cancelled the season. It’s even more disappointing that the @uofmichigan president did not come speak to our team or even explain his decision making process. Not surprising since I’ve never seen him in the facility in my 4+ years here. Due to this decision, I, along with many of my brothers, may never be able to play the game of football again.I’ve wanted to play football for Michigan and follow in the footsteps of my dad ever since I can remember, and he had that same dream for me too. Coach Harbaugh gave me that opportunity, and everything that came with it was more than anything I could’ve ever wished for. I’ve played in the Big House, travelled the world, and got to wear the winged helmet. I got to share the honor of playing for Michigan with my father. If I never get the opportunity to play football again... this has still been more than a dream come true.
Go Blue!
Bill Bender, Sporting News: 10 things we'll miss most without Big Ten, Pac-12 football
'The Game'
We lose so many great rivalries, but this remains the best rivalry in college football. It doesn't matter that it was supposed to play on Oct. 24. Last week, we were talking about a spat on a Big Ten coaches call between Harbaugh and Day. We were wondering whether the Buckeyes really could put 100 on the Wolverines, and what it would mean for Harbaugh to drop to 0-6 in "The Game." Or perhaps Michigan could have won at The Shoe for the first time since 2000. Either way, The Game — the one that drives the most headlines in the regular season and offense — will not be played. That still hurts the most.
If misery loves company, at least the Big Ten had the Pac-12 to share the burden Tuesday.
And that was by design, in the same way this announcement — that two of the Power 5 conferences in college football were punting their fall sports schedules to next spring — was out of necessity.
Understanding the strength in numbers is imperative not just when you’re assessing the medical risks in the middle of a pandemic. But also when you’re weighing the public-relations damage and political fallout from a decision this monumental, scrapping a football season for the first time in the 125-year history of your league and postponing the rest of your fall sports as well.
“We had big plans,” explained Kevin Warren, the Big Ten’s new commissioner who sounded as glum as he looked in delivering the bad news on the league’s network Tuesday afternoon. “Our student-athletes have worked hard to prepare. Our administrators have come together. We've tried to do everything we could possibly do to have a fall season.”
Yet these are uncertain times, so the difficult decisions ultimately are unavoidable. And to the Big Ten’s credit, the people in charge went ahead and did what they felt they had to do, even if that opinion was far from unanimous.
Warren, whose on-camera performance Tuesday was uninspiring, at best, wouldn’t share the results of the final vote among the 14-member conference’s leadership, but one university — Nebraska — has made it quite clear it was against this move. Ohio State and Iowa also were pushing for another pause or delay, rather than the postponement that was made official after another league-wide meeting Tuesday morning. And the 11th-hour lobbying from prominent coaches and scores of players certainly got everyone’s attention, if not their vote.
Still, even as they went first — Leaders and Legends and all — Warren and the rest of the Big Ten’s decision-makers knew they wouldn’t be the last, at least. The Pac-12 quickly followed suit with a unanimous vote to postpone all sports competition through the end of December. That’s a move that also pushes back the start of college basketball, among other winter sports out West, and probably is a harbinger of things to come elsewhere.
"The players want to play, the coaches want to coach, but the presidents said no because it's the safe thing -- 'I don't have any responsibility, nobody can come back and second-guess me, I don't have to have any regrets, whatsoever," Holtz said. "I'm perfectly safe, I'm secure.'
"The easiest thing to say [is] 'No, we are not going to do it.' It takes some leadership and courage ... added Holtz, who went on to say, "we got to move on with this country."
We will continue to consult with medical experts and evaluate the situation as it emerges. We hope it may be possible for our student athletes to have the opportunity to compete.
We are very disappointed in the decision by the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall football season, as we have been and continue to be ready to play.
Safety comes first. Based on the conversations with our medical experts, we continue to strongly believe the absolute safest place for our student athletes is within the rigorous safety protocols, testing procedures, and the structure and support provided by Husker Athletics.
Statement From Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith
This is an incredibly sad day for our student-athletes, who have worked so hard and been so vigilant fighting against this pandemic to get this close to their season.
My heart aches for them and their families. President-elect [Kristina] Johnson and I were totally aligned in our efforts to delay the start of the season rather than postpone. I am so grateful to her for all her efforts in support of our student-athletes and a traditional fall season.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey Statement
I look forward to learning more about the factors that led the Big Ten and Pac-12 leadership to take these actions today. I remain comfortable with the thorough and deliberate approach that the SEC and our 14 members are taking to support a healthy environment for our student-athletes. We will continue to further refine our policies and protocols for a safe return to sports as we monitor developments around COVID-19 in a continued effort to support, educate and care for our student-athletes every day.
The ACC will continue to make decisions based on medical advice, inclusive of our Medical Advisory Group, local and state health guidelines, and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities' academic missions. The safety of our students, staff and overall campus communities will always be our top priority, and we are pleased with the protocols being administrated on our 15 campuses. We will continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well. We understand the need to stay flexible and be prepared to adjust as medical information and the landscape evolves.
Andrea Adelson, ESPN: ACC medical expert says fall college football season can be played safely
Dr. Cameron Wolfe, a Duke infectious disease specialist, told Sports Business Daily that doctors have learned enough over the past six months to manage the risk.
"We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe," Wolfe told The Daily. "Can we safely have two teams meet on the field? I would say yes. Will it be tough? Yes. Will it be expensive and hard and lots of work? For sure. But I do believe you can sufficiently mitigate the risk of bringing COVID onto the football field or into the training room at a level that's no different than living as a student on campus."
Sam Khan Jr., ESPN: Big 12 to move forward with plans for fall football season, sources say
The Big 12 will continue moving forward intent on playing fall football, multiple sources told ESPN on Tuesday, confirming a Yahoo Sports report.
The conference's board of directors met for more than an hour on Tuesday to discuss the future of the season in the midst of the Big Ten and Pac-12 decisions to postpone fall sports until 2021.
Much attention was on the Big 12 meeting, after the ACC and SEC publicly affirmed their intention to continue moving forward.
The decision now leaves three of the Power 5 conferences intent on playing, for now.
The Big 12 athletic directors are set to meet late Tuesday.
"Getting closer," TCU coach Gary Patterson told ESPN.
A revised Big 12 schedule is expected to be released soon, sources told ESPN. The teams will still play their "9-plus-1" schedule setup, with nine conference games and one nonconference game, but will delay the start of the season until Sept. 26, multiple sources told ESPN.
Social Media Reaction
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