John Swofford will never forget the phone call.
It was late on a Tuesday night, Aug. 11, toward the end of one of the wildest days in the modern era of college football. Both the Big Ten and Pac-12 had announced the cancellation of their fall football seasons, with potential plans to play in the spring.
Suddenly, the Power 5 had quickly whittled to the Power 3. And even that was in jeopardy. Big 12 conference leaders spent that Tuesday night hearing from medical experts before making a decision of their own: to play or not to play.