Big Ten Conference postpones fall football and other athletics due to coronavirus concerns

As the protracted coronavirus pandemic continues throughout the summer months, the Big Ten Conference on Tuesday announced it will postpone its fall sports seasons.

The decision, made due to coronavirus concerns, applies to "men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball," the conference said.  "The Big Ten Conference will continue to evaluate a number of options regarding these sports, including the possibility of competition in the spring. Decisions regarding winter and spring sports will also continue to be evaluated," the release says. 

“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,” Commissioner Kevin Warren said. “As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall."

So far there have been more than 5.1 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and more than 164,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.