Big Ten Conference Postpones College Football Season

The Big Ten Conference has decided to postpone its fall sports program, including its college football schedule, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to published reports.

"The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren in a statement. “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall."

The Big Ten's decision to postpone the college football season until at least Spring 2021 comes after a morning meeting with the conference’s presidents. The conference, which includes such schools as Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State, becomes the first of the "Power Five" conferences -- which also includes the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference, and Southeastern Conference (SEC) -- to postpone the 2020 college football season, striking a major blow to prospects for a college football season this fall. 

Other conferences that have decided to cancel fall sports play include The Mountain West, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Mid-American Conference. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.