Finally, we’ve heard from the Big Ten on what it will do if a game cannot be played this coming fall because of an outbreak of COVID-19.
It appears as though the league will follow suit with other conferences and not reschedule the game, giving a forget to the team that does not have enough players to play the game. It both teams cannot play because of an outbreak, then the game will simply be a “no contest.”The details were announced in a statement from the league on Monday.
Here is the complete statement from the Big Ten offices:
ROSEMONT, Ill. – In collaboration and communication with the Big Ten Conference Athletic Directors, Chancellors and Presidents, the Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Sports Medicine Committee – effective today – the conference has determined that if one of its member institutions is unable to play a conference contest due to COVID-19, that contest shall be declared a forfeit and will not be rescheduled. That contest shall be considered a loss for the team impacted by COVID-19 and a win for its opponent in the conference standings. If both of the two competing teams are unable to participate in a scheduled Conference competition due to COVID-19 and as a result the competition is unable to occur on the calendar day on which it is scheduled, the competition shall be considered a “no contest.”
Head coach Ryan Day has said recently that he hopes to have almost all of the players fully vaccinated soon and that the team is currently somewhere north of 90 percent. I wouldn’t expect as many disruptions as what we saw last season — especially considering the number of players inoculated — but at least we finally have some guidance about a week and a half from the start of the season for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes kick off the season on the road against Minnesota next Thursday, September 2.
