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LIVE BLOG: Big Ten Presidents to Meet Tuesday Morning Regarding Football Decision

The Big Ten's presidents met Monday night, but no decision has been made yet on the state of the fall college football season. Their decision is expected to be announced Tuesday.
Dylan Wallace|
LIVE BLOG: Big Ten Presidents to Meet Tuesday Morning Regarding Football Decision
LIVE BLOG: Big Ten Presidents to Meet Tuesday Morning Regarding Football Decision

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A new report seems to come out every few minutes regarding Big Ten football this fall, so we'll keep you updated by the minute in this live blog as the decision approaches. 

There's been a lot going on all day. Here's what we know:

The latest: Big Ten presidents to meet 10:30 a.m. Tuesday

UPDATED: 11:30 p.m. ET — ESPN's Heather Dinich reported late Monday night that the Big Ten's presidents are expected to meet Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m. to make a decision on college football this fall.

In Dinich's report, it said the Big Ten might consider pushing back its start date to Sept. 26. The other Power 5 conferences already have their schedules beginning around that time, so the Big Ten was the only one starting in early September.

"Although they are still considering becoming the first FBS conference to postpone fall sports, the majority of their athletic directors aren't ready to 'pull the plug,' the source said."

Tuesday should be another day full of news regarding Big Ten football.

No decision made on Monday

9:30 p.m. ET — After the Big Ten's presidents reportedly met on Monday night to come up with a decision on whether or not football will be played this fall, the result of it is no decision so far.

It is believed that there will be an answer come Tuesday regarding what they decided in the meeting. 

James Franklin wants Big Ten to wait

9 p.m. ET — Penn State coach James Franklin joins the list of Big Ten coaches to speak against the rumors that the Big Ten might be postponing the fall season.

Franklin posted a statement to Twitter, saying, "While we all agree there is much uncertainty; the best decision right now isn't to cancel the season. I implore the Big Ten to consider all possibilities preserve college football this fall."

He went on to say, "Finally, I support our student-athletes' desire to play this fall & will exhaust all options for them."

Ryan Day shocked by cancellation reports

UPDATED: 7 p.m. ET — Ohio State coach Ryan Day went on ESPN2 today and he said he was shocked when he heard reports that the Big Ten might cancel the season.

"We have to at the very least, postpone it, and allow us a little bit of time to keep reevaluating everything that's going on," Day said. "That's the reason why we put this schedule together, to have some flexibility."

"We owe it to these kids to exhaust every single option we possibly can and then we go from there."

Day joined the show following his tweet from earlier in the day, which can be seen near the bottom of this article, about fighting for the players and making sure they get their 2020 season.

Nebraska willing to play elsewhere

4:30 p.m. ET — Nebraska football coach Scott Frost told ESPN's Mark Schlabach that Nebraska might look elsewhere for games if the Big Ten shuts down this fall. 

"We're a proud member of the Big Ten," Frost said during a Zoom teleconference with reporters. "We want to play a Big Ten schedule. I think the only reason we would look at any other options is if for some reason the Big Ten wasn't playing and only a handful of teams from the Big Ten wanted to continue playing. I think if that's the case, I think we're prepared to look at any and all options."

Nebraska president Walter E. Carter Jr. and athletic director Bill Moos haven't commented on the day's events.

"I know where our university president stands, and he wants to play," Frost said.

Frost, like many coaches around the Big Ten, feels like he can keep his players safer by keeping them all together, not spread out all over the country.

"If we send kids home, they're going to be in closer contact with a lot of family members and other people that might be at higher risk for coronavirus than if we keep them here in an environment, where they're around other healthy, young people," Frost said. "If I had a son, I would want him playing football. I think this is the safest place he could be, and a lot of schools around the conference probably feel the same way, that the safest environment we can put these guys in is an environment where they're being monitored constantly, being screened, being tested, being taken care of [and] being protected if they do get sick.

"I'm passionate about this because our guys want to play. I'm proud of who they are and they decisions they've made. I think it's our responsibility to make sure they respect this virus. I'm not a doctor and I don't understand a lot of these things. The medical experts that we're leaning on are the ones that are guiding our decisions."

Breaking this morning

According to a report from The Detroit Free Press, the Big Ten has made a decision to cancel football and will announce it officially on Tuesday. 

That report came after Dan Patrick, from The Dan Patrick Show, reported "12 of the 14 Presidents from the Big 10 have voted against having a Fall College Football season. Iowa and Nebraska were the two that have been pushing to play."

But, later in the day, a Big Ten spokesman said "no vote has been held by our presidents and chancellors."

It is believed that there will be a decision come Tuesday. The Big Ten's presidents are scheduled to meet Monday night at 6 p.m. eastern to make its official decision.

Players making a stand in both directions

A number of talented players in the Big Ten have already opted out of the season, such as Minnesota's Rashod Bateman, Penn State's Micah Parsons and Purdue's Rondale Moore.

But many players across the country have started a #WeAreUnited and #WeWantToPlay movement. A number of Indiana players, such as Whop Philyor and Jaylin Williams, have expressed their support for #WeWantToPlay.

Even president Donald Trump weighed on the #WeWantToPlay movement, saying the players have been working too hard to not play.

Nebraska senator pleads for games ... 

As mentioned earlier, Nebraska was reportedly one of two schools to vote for playing this fall. Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse sent a letter to the Big Ten, saying, "This is a moment for leadership. These young men need a season. Please don’t cancel college football."

... And so does Ohio State's Ryan Day

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has also weighed in on the matter, saying, "Swinging as hard as we possibly can right now for these players!! This isn’t over!"

It is an ongoing situation with many beliefs for both sides. One thing is for sure, and it's that a decision on Big Ten football this fall should be coming this week, most likely sooner than later. This page will continued to be updated.

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Dylan Wallace
DYLAN WALLACE

Dylan Wallace is a reporter for Sports Illustrated Indiana. He is a 2020 graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, and is from Crown Point, Ind.

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