The Big Ten Changes Its Mind on Football

Season will start weekend of Oct. 23
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2020 9:27 AM CDT
The Big Ten Changes Its Mind on Football
The stadium won't look like this, though.   (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)

The president is pleased, and he's not alone: The Big Ten on Wednesday announced that rather than wait till spring, the football season will kick off the weekend of Oct. 23-24 despite the pandemic. Each team will have an eight-game schedule. "Great News: BIG TEN FOOTBALL IS BACK. All teams to participate. Thank you to the players, coaches, parents, and all school representatives. Have a FANTASTIC SEASON! It is my great honor to have helped!!!" tweeted President Trump in response.

ESPN reports the Big Ten on Aug. 11 voted 11-3 to postpone the season. On Tuesday, the vote to resume sports was unanimous, and the AP reports the fresh vote came about in part because of the availability of daily rapid-response COVID-19 tests; such tests weren't available at the time of the first vote. Daily testing of athletes, coaches, and staff will start Sept. 30. If an athlete tests positive, he'll be out for a minimum of 21 days. (More Big Ten stories.)

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