The Big Ten is tapping the brakes on its college football season.
The conference has announced that its member football teams will remain in the first two days of the “acclimatization” period indefinitely, meaning helmets are the only protective equipment allowed at practices. Typically teams will practice in shorts and helmets for two days before advancing to wearing full pads. The Big Ten says this will be the standard, “until further notice.”
Michigan State–like many teams–opened fall camp on Friday in helmets and shorts. The plan, according to head coach Mel Tucker, was to advance to shells–helmets and shoulder pads–for two practices on Sunday and Monday, followed by a day off on Tuesday, and then moving to full pads on Wednesday. That plan is now on hold.
As for a timeline moving forward, the Big Ten said in a release, “As we have consistently stated, we will continue to evaluate daily, while relying on our medical experts, to make the best decisions possible for the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes.”
Other fall sports will continue to, “(W)ork locally with team physicians and athletic trainers to adjust practices to the appropriate level of activity, as necessary, based on current medical protocols.”
