We are midway through the second week of August and the Big Ten conference is still huddling about how to proceed with fall sports. Operating with cautious optimism this late spring and early summer made sense due to the constantly evolving nature of the impact that COVID-19 is having in this country. However, after five months of the United States battling this global pandemic and it remaining major national health crisis, it seemed more than wishful thinking when the league announced the conference only schedule for football last week.
The reality of the situation appears to be sidelined due to the devastating financial impact cancelling fall sports, specifically football, will have on all 14 institutions within the Big Ten.