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Big Ten Shuts Down Football, Other Fall Sports for 2020

Big Ten football won't be played this fall.

The Big Ten has officially voted not to play football and other sports this fall due to the health and safety concerns associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and will instead attempt to play its fall sports in the spring, the conference announced Tuesday.

“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,” Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said 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.