MADISON, WI (WSAU) — The 2020 College Football season is hanging by a thread.
That’s the feeling following a weekend meeting of Big Ten Presidents and Chancellors that was held just before the Mid American Conference became the first FBS league to announce it would cancel the fall season due to the spread of COVID-19 nationwide.
Multiple NCAA football insiders including Brett McMurphy of Stadium and Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports reported that representatives from all of the so-called “Power Five” conferences- Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC, and PAC 12 held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss how to handle the upcoming season. The overwhelming feeling from that meeting was a uniform announcement that the season would be scrapped could come by Tuesday of this week
All of those leagues had previously released revised schedules of ten or eleven games with many of them choosing to play only conference games. In some instances, one non-league game was allowed as long as it was a home game or played within a school’s home state.
The Big Ten released its revised schedule less than a week ago which included ten games along with the Big Ten title game, still scheduled for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. That schedule had Wisconsin opening the season on Friday, September 4th against Indiana.
News of the possible implosion of the season prompted college football players from all levels to Tweet support for the season with the hashtag #WeWantToPlay. Many not only expressed a desire to take the field this season even if it’s not a full schedule but also expressed support for their school’s medical staff and return to play plans.
The most vocal among those players was Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, seen by many as the runaway favorite to be the #1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Thus far Division I FBS is the only level of football that hasn’t seen its championship scrapped. the NCAA previously canceled fall championships for all Division III and Division II schools. Then on Sunday the Division I FCS tournament was axed after major leagues including the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Colonial Athletic Association announced plans to postpone play.
The NCAA does not operate or sanction the Division I FBS championship. That is governed by the leadership of the College Football Playoff including the Power five conferences and representatives from the bowl system.
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