COLUMN: Will Big Ten cancel fall sports season?

     It’s another Monday in the newspaper office and decisions are being made behind closed doors about the upcoming NCAA football season. As I write this, I am hearing a decision has been made by both the Big Ten and Pac 12 to cancel fall sports and move the football season to the spring.

     By the time you read this my column it may be old news. The rumor mill is saying all Big Ten presidents, except for the University of Iowa and Nebraska, have voted to cancel the fall season.

     Part of me is not surprised at all by this. Part of me wants the season to go ahead, even if it gets disrupted somewhere in the course of the 10-game season. I’m reading the players want to play. This is just so crazy. Why not give it a chance? Well, we all know the answer to that, why risk the health of your players, coaches and support staff?

     Besides football, volleyball and cross country, what is going to happen to your winter sports season? College wrestling didn’t quite get to the end last year after conference tournament time wrapped up. College basketball got shut down just as conference tournaments were getting ready to start.

     COVID-19 could be around for a while. It may take more time to get a vaccine approved for the entire world to take, if in fact most decide to take it. Lots of decisions need to be made and answers are needed for those student athletes that are involved. You can’t just say we’re cancelling the fall season without a legitimate reason. Most are not going to accept “because of the virus” as a legitimate reason.

     It's going to be difficult to look the thousands of healthy male and female college athletes in the eyes and tell them their seasons are being cancelled and by the way, don’t miss class at all this fall.