Following extreme backlash from fans and players alike, the group of colleges known as “The Big Ten” has decided to go ahead with a modified football season, despite the known risks and dangers involved. In an anonymous vote of 11-3 by The Conference’s Council of Presidents and Chancellors, Football is set to return with an eight game season starting on the weekend of October 23rd. 

      Originally, the regular season was cancelled due to concerns involving the novel Coronavirus, and the need for interstate travel and contact that is associated with the virus’s spread. This decision was made on the 11th of August to postpone regular season football until the spring, with the possibility of a total cancelation.

     “The mental and physical health and welfare of our student-athletes has been at the center of every decision we have made regarding the ability to proceed forward” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren originally stated to Sports Illustrated. The following month faced the Big Ten commissioner with great backlash from fans, players, community leaders, who expressed their dissatisfaction for this decision due to various political and non-political reasons. 

      This decision made its way to the desk of The President, who contacted Kevin Warren “about immediately starting up Big Ten football”. This conversation likely had an impact on the final decision of The Big Ten committee, especially since Warren was quoted by the New York Times only weeks after the original decision saying that he was  “overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited”. 

      The Big Ten will feature all the normal teams from the past, despite colleges like Wisconsin not returning to in-person learning due to high positivity rates. The eight week schedule will feature 14 teams, playing each week without a by-week. The ninth week will feature games based on conference rankings. Some games not to miss include: Ohio State-Penn State and Michigan-Michigan State on Halloween, as well as the highly anticipated Indiana-Ohio State on the 21st of November.