Big Ten Conference Postpones Fall Sports Until Spring

ROSEMONT, IL — The Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, becoming the first major athletics conference to call off plans to play college football in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Conference officials also called off all regular season competitions and tournaments in cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball for the rest of 2020, while leaving open the possibility for competition to resume in the spring depending on COVID-19 conditions.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said the decision was a painstaking one — but not a difficult one.

“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," Warren said in a statement announcing the postponement.

"While I know our decision today will be disappointing in many ways for our thousands of student-athletes and their families, I am heartened and inspired by their resilience, their insightful and discerning thoughts, and their participation through our conversations to this point," he added.

RELATED: Big Ten Conference Cancels College Football, Fall Sports: Reports

Last week, conference officials released a football schedule and testing protocol that would have seen games begin as soon as the first weekend of September.

But at a meeting Sunday, 12 of the conference's 14 presidents and chancellors reportedly voted to call off the fall sports season. Leaders of the Universities of Iowa and Nebraska were the only school representatives to favor moving forward with the season.

“Our primary responsibility is to make the best possible decisions in the interest of our students, faculty and staff,” said Morton Schapiro, president of Northwestern University and chair of the Big Ten's council of university chiefs.

Here is the @bigten's official statement on postponing fall sports. pic.twitter.com/BYBBIdgMKz
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 11, 2020