Well, if collegiate athletics weren’t a confusing topic already, they certainly are now.
Wednesday morning, The Big 10 Athletic Conference announced to play a 10-game, conference-only football schedule that kicks off Labor Day weekend and leaves room for flexibility amongst teams.
Here’s where it gets tricky; Each team has two open weeks, and the schedule has four weeks built in to reschedule games, including a leaguewide open week on Nov. 28. The model allows for opening games on the weekend of Sept. 3-5 to be moved to Sept. 12, Sept. 19 or Sept. 26 “through strategic sequencing.”
If this schedule is followed and successful, the regular season would wrap up Nov. 21, and the league championship game is set for Dec. 5 with the ability to move back to as late as Dec. 19.
Assistant Commissioner Kerry Kenny told ESPN, “It was something we were front and center about and asked all the athletic directors: ‘Is this something, if it allows us to have more flexibility to move things around if needed, you’re OK to have those games be placed in a different portion than when they normally would be played?'”
Now the question remains, is it worth it? We have seen student-athletes now organize and submit letters stating they are not comfortable at the moment because there are no clear guidelines and protocols. And parents are not willing to send their kids off to uncertainty. Even if it means playing for a major university.
We will keep our eyes on this as more details come out.
