Big Ten commissioner details factors in decision to postpone fall sports season

Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren on Wednesday wrote an open letter detailing what he says went into the decision to postpone the conference's 2020-21 fall sports season. 

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren on Wednesday wrote an open letter detailing what he says went into the decision to postpone the conference’s 2020-21 fall sports season.

Warren’s letter says a vote of the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors was “overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited.”

The decision to postpone was made in conjunction with feedback, guidance and advice from medical experts, Warren wrote.

“We understand the disappointment and questions surrounding the timing of our decision to postpone fall sports, especially in light of releasing a football schedule only six days prior to that decision,” Warren wrote. “From the beginning, we consistently communicated our commitment to cautiously proceed one day at a time with the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes at the center of our decision-making process. That is why we took simultaneous paths in releasing the football schedule, while also diligently monitoring the spread of the virus, testing, and medical concerns as student-athletes were transitioning to full-contact practice.”

According to the letter, the primary factors that led to the postponement included:

• Rising transmission rates
• Concerns about contact tracing
• Unknowns about long-term effects of the virus

Warren says financial considerations did not play into the decision.

“Moving forward, we will continue to build upon the framework that our medical experts have developed over the past five months while we take the opportunity to learn more about the virus and its effects,” the letter says. “As we expand upon a plan to allow our student-athletes to compete as soon as it is safe to do so, we will keep our focus on creating protocols and standards set forth and established by our medical advisors that are responsive to the medical concerns evaluated by our COP/C.”

The letter says the conference has assembled a “Return to Competition Task Force” that includes members of Council of Presidents and Chancellors, sports medicine and university medical personnel,  athletic directors and head coaches among others.

You can read the full letter here: letter.