Big Ten Extends Ban on Organized Team Activities to June 1

The Big Ten Conference announced Monday that the ban on events taking place on their 14 campuses has been extended another month to June 1. That means all season preparations, recruiting and workouts will still have to be done remotely.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind — Big Ten athletic programs will remain closed and no organized team activities can take place on campuses through June 1, 2020, the conference announced on Monday, extending an order that's been in place since late March.

This is an additional measure to the previously announced cancellation of all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, the conference's news release said. The Conference also has previously announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.

May is usually a quiet month on campuses anyway, but the order officially being put in place means that football teams can't host on-campus recruits or offer any football camps. It's the same this with all other sports, as well.

The release said the league will continue to use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps relative to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus, the release said.

The move comes at a time where several stages in the Big Ten football are beginning to re-open for business in phases. For example, in Indiana, the second phase of Gov. Eric Holcomb's re-opening plan begins for 89 Indiana counties, with Lake, Marion and Cass counties — areas that are still considered COVID-19 hotspots — starting with Phase 2 next week instead.

The biggest concern for athletic departments will have to do with football season in the fall. Games are scheduled to start the first weekend in September, and most coaches have said that the players will need a month of conditioning in July and a month of training camp in August to best prepare for the season.

The deadline announcement on Monday begins to narrow that window even further.