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The Big Ten announced on Thursday that its football teams will not play any scheduled out of conference games this fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith is concerned the conference might need to go further. In a teleconference with reporters, he said he is no longer “cautiously optimistic” about the fall football season, and is “very concerned,” according to beat writer Joey Kaufman.
It was not too long ago that Smith was touting confidence in having some measure of fans in the stands for football games this fall. With July upon us and the season a little under two months away, that confidence appears to be gone.
There is chatter other conferences are considering switching to a conference-only schedule. However, in light of the Ivy League’s decision to postpone all sports through the end of the calendar year, the current conference-only scheduling decisions might not be the final step.