Big Ten Conference
ROSEMONT, IL (WSAU) — The Big Ten Conference has announced that schools that are unable to play a conference game due to a COVID-19 outbreak on their roster will have to forfeit that contest and it will not be made up.
In a statement, the league’s Athletic Directors, Chancellors, and Presidents said “if one of its member institutions is unable to play a conference contest due to COVID-19, that contest shall be declared a forfeit and will not be rescheduled. That contest shall be considered a loss for the team impacted by COVID-19 and a win for its opponent in the conference standings.”
There will be some leeway if both teams are unable to play because of COVID-19 protocols. In that case, the game will be declared a “no contest” and neither club will be credited with a win or loss.
The policy falls in line with those that have been implemented by the other so-called “Power Five” conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, and PAC-12) for the upcoming season. The policy will apply to all conference events in all sports, including football. Last year the Big Ten played primarily conference games for all sports but did not force schools to forfeit games due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Wisconsin football season was heavily impacted by those procedures, with the Badgers playing just one game in the first three weeks of the season due to outbreaks on their scheduled opponent’s rosters. Wisconsin then lost a game against Minnesota later in the season because of an outbreak on its own roster, that game was made up during the last week of the year.
Wisconsin finished 2020 4-3 including a win in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl over Wake Forest. The Badgers are scheduled to play a full 12-game football slate this coming year including nine Big Ten contests. The season opens on Saturday, September 4th against Penn State in Madison.
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