ROSEMONT, IL (WTVB) – The Big Ten Conference is planning to kick off the football season after the conference adopted several medical protocols to deal with Covid-19.
Student athletes, coaches, and on-field staff will be required to undergo daily testing and athletes who test positive will not be able to compete for 21 days. All 14 Big Ten schools will also be required to designate a chief infection officer.
The conference is planning an eight-game regular season schedule to begin the weekend of October 24th. The Big Ten previously postponed all fall sports, including football, last month.
The return of the Big Ten could be paving the way for the Pac-12 to make a return to college football as well. Both California and Oregon governor’s said in a statement state rules don’t prohibit the conference from playing. Six of the 12 Pac-12 schools reside in those two states.
According to reports, USC and UCLA reached out to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office about a return to play and a fast-tracked plan could be in place to have the conference return to action later this year.
