Big Ten and Pac-12 Pull Plug On Fall Football Amid Pandemic

The Big Ten and Pac-12 won't play football this fall because of concerns about COVID-19, taking two of college football's five power conferences out of a crumbling season amid the pandemic. About an hour after the Big Ten's announcement, the Pac-12 called a news conference to say its season would be postponed until the spring. The Big Ten's announcement comes six days after the conference that includes historic programs such as Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State had released a revised conference-only football schedule that it hoped would help it navigate a fall season with potential COVID-19 disruptions. Instead, all fall sports in the Big Ten have been called off and a spring season will be explored. The decision was monumental but not a surprise. Speculation has run rampant for several days that the Big Ten was moving toward this decision. On Monday, coaches throughout the conference tried to push back the tide, publicly pleading for more time and threatening to look elsewhere for games this fall.