There will be no spring football in the Big Ten for at least the next month.
Such is the case after the conference made yet another announcement designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, confirming that no organized team activities will be held by schools until April 6. The policy will be evaluated after that.
“The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic,” a statement read. “The main priority of the Big Ten Conference continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty, fans and media as we continue to monitor all developing and relevant information on the COVID-19 virus.”
The league previously already announced the cancellation of their men’s basketball tournament and all spring sports contests. They also announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting.
While there had been some wiggle room in those statements for teams to still hold spring football practices, that option has now been shelved -- until April at the earliest.
Several schools have taken things a step beyond this before the conference office stepped in, as Michigan put a stop to just about everything already -- as did Penn State -- and Ohio State took the lead on halting recruiting and other sports functions.
The decision by the Big Ten comes just as word surfaces that others such as LSU are still moving ahead with holding football practice next week.
