Sources: Outline of Big Ten's "spring" season taking shape

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Sources: Outline of Big Ten's "spring" season taking shape

A rough outline for the Big Ten's "spring" football season has taken shape, according to BWI sources.
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Here's how it looks, at present:

- A pre-set eight-game schedule will begin the week after New Year's Day, likely kicking off on Wednesday, Jan. 7 or Thursday, Jan. 8, and progressing through the weekend.

- The goal will be to not have games overlapping with each other, opening up multiple game slots to various broadcast partners.

- Every team would have one bye weekend.

- No games would be held on campuses, instead moving the entirety of the schedule to neutral sites, which are still to be determined.

- A conference championship game between the top finishers in the East and West divisions would take place the second weekend in March at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

Additionally, sources indicate that there is also a possibility, with the occurrence of a similar "spring" season for the Pac-12, that the two conferences could pit their champions against each other for a traditional Rose Bowl.
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I don't know if this works in the end, but it sure would be easier to not do this if in fact the people playing this fall can't pull it off.
 

Boring. Just tee it up next fall and take it like a deployed soldier.
 

This is very intriguing. This could have legs. I like the possibility of conference championship at the Rose Bowl and then the Rose Bowl. Could have conference championship double-header there (huge TV) an then have the Rose Bowl game the following weekend. Teams stay in a Rose Bowl bubble.
 

I'm into it. Would be a crazy spring sports season with college football and hoops going on.
 




So those that believe this has legs, what will change between now and January? We were led to believe cancelling the fall season was for player safety as related to long term effects (myocarditis, other respiratory and organ issues) and for liability. Well, assuming a widely available, effective vaccine isn’t available by January, and we still won’t know long term effects of infection, and now we’re in the middle of cold and flu season, how is this safer?

And if player safety is the issue, why are players in the B1G still practicing with contact right now? If this was such a concern, wouldn’t they have shut that down?

This is absolutely the B1G kicking the can down the road. If the other conferences have successful seasons, they may move forward with spring and somehow forget about their safety concerns.
 

People are throwing mud up against the wall trying for an idea to work. In my opinion nothing is really sticking. Stick to next fall (2021) is my two cents.
 




At least they have a plan. No one knows what would happen until the games are played in the SEC and ACC.

Question: Would playing outdoors in the frickin' cold slow down Covid-19? I'd like to see the TCF Bank version of blizzard bowl as a spectacle for the nation to watch.

Fans in the stand will be bundled up and masked up pretty good.
 

forever a gopher said:
So those that believe this has legs, what will change between now and January? We were led to believe cancelling the fall season was for player safety as related to long term effects (myocarditis, other respiratory and organ issues) and for liability. Well, assuming a widely available, effective vaccine isn’t available by January, and we still won’t know long term effects of infection, and now we’re in the middle of cold and flu season, how is this safer?

And if player safety is the issue, why are players in the B1G still practicing with contact right now? If this was such a concern, wouldn’t they have shut that down?

This is absolutely the B1G kicking the can down the road. If the other conferences have successful seasons, they may move forward with spring and somehow forget about their safety concerns.
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The only wrong opinion in this, is to claim nothing will change by Jan. It’s August, for cripes sake.

Just because no one can tell you exactly x,y,z right now, doesn’t mean jack squat. Plenty will change.

That’ll just have to be good enough, for now. Don’t like it? Tough crap.
 

It seems easier to just do the fall season than this plan.

The Big Ten powers simply don't want to concede that they probably have made a mistake.

That said, the ratings for this would be stellar, especially down the stretch in sports-dreary February/March.
 

fmlizard said:
It seems easier to just do the fall season than this plan.

The Big Ten powers simply don't want to concede that they probably have made a mistake.

That said, the ratings for this would be stellar, especially down the stretch in sports-dreary February/March.
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Sounds great to me! With the cherry on top of the true Rose Bowl with the PAC.

I’m not afraid to say it: CFP can go f_ck itself!!
 



If this works, having the conference championship and Rose Bowl around when March Madness starts could be a great time for college sports. Even better if Minnesota is in one or more of them.

It seems less likely than a fall season though. The cold and flu season could both make the disease more of a problem. Hopefully we'll have a vaccine in that timeframe but having it available and distributing it by the second week of January seems aggressive. The beginning of the year seems to be the target so hopefully they'll hit it but 1/7 doesn't leave much room for error. Hopefully the plan is flexible to push back if needed rather than either early January or nothing.
 

The coaches, ADs, Bi Ten can plan theoretical scenarios till the cows come home but the presidents have the authority. Is there any indication there is movement on that front, or is this a toothless sandbox exercise designed to temporarily placate the few that actually believe this could happen.

For this plan to come to pass that would mean they would start practicing and hitting in December, cases are at an ebb, risk of myocarditis and other complications at baseline, and the risk management experts running the schools enthusiastically sign off.. Cue Lloyd Christmas.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The coaches, ADs, Bi Ten can plan theoretical scenarios till the cows come home but the presidents have the authority. Is there any indication there is movement on that front, or is this a toothless sandbox exercise designed to temporarily placate the few that actually believe this could happen.

For this plan to come to pass that would mean they would start practicing and hitting in December, cases are at an ebb, risk of myocarditis and other complications at baseline, and the risk management experts running the schools enthusiastically sign off.. Cue Lloyd Christmas.
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Ding, ding, ding!!! Winner!!

Give the Governor a Harumph!!
 

I hope it does happen. Having the PAC12 as a partner for a potential Rose Bowl would be key. Still way to many variable with Covid and everything else.
 

MplsGopher said:
Sounds great to me! With the cherry on top of the true Rose Bowl with the PAC.

I’m not afraid to say it: CFP can go f_ck itself!!
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A Rose Bowl in March, after the CFP Champion has already been crowned? What else is on TV that day?
 


WriterGoph said:
Says the dude watching NDSU vs Central Arkansas! Ha!
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Will certainly have higher ratings than the FCS championship (ie, the boring-ass NDSU vs whatever poor saps they found for the game Bowl) ever had.

If NDSU had any balls, it would move up as an independent like Liberty did. But they're satisfied winning 27 championships against a bunch of nobodies.
 

WriterGoph said:
Says the dude watching NDSU vs Central Arkansas! Ha!
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It would be ridiculous to watch a game with a QB who will likely go in the top 5 of the NFL draft next year? I wouldn't mind seeing what all the hype is about myself, but I guess that's just crazy?
 

Yeah who wouldn't want to see the football equivalent of a 15 year old playing in the Little League World Series?

Central Arkansas. HA!

If you were gonna do one game .... wouldn't you make it an interesting opponent with at least a chance to win?? Montana? James Madison? Someone with a pulse?
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The coaches, ADs, Bi Ten can plan theoretical scenarios till the cows come home but the presidents have the authority. Is there any indication there is movement on that front, or is this a toothless sandbox exercise designed to temporarily placate the few that actually believe this could happen.

For this plan to come to pass that would mean they would start practicing and hitting in December, cases are at an ebb, risk of myocarditis and other complications at baseline, and the risk management experts running the schools enthusiastically sign off.. Cue Lloyd Christmas.
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I'm not saying you're wrong because none of us know what will happen, but would you rather they didn't make a plan? Consider the possibility that things go relatively smoothly for the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 this fall and medical experts come to some agreement about the risks secondary to COVID, deeming them to be minor. You've then got B1G presidents -- many facing HUGE budget shortfalls -- considering the possibility of hundreds of millions in TV revenue, now with more assurances that a season can happen safely. I'm not saying there's a 90% chance of it happening, but I'd say it's better than 1 in a million. BTW, didn't there used to be a poster named Lloyd Christmas around here?
 

He's just being a troll. It's his bit. Faux outrage over not meeting unreasonable/impossible "demands".
 

Just saw my family doc (Mayo system) for my annual checkup and he’s been told to expect a vaccine possibly in 1st quarter 2021, likely 2nd quarter. I think hopes for a January reset because a vaccine is out are likely to be dashed.
 
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goldenboy said:
Just saw my family doc for my annual checkup and he’s been told to expect a vaccine possibly in 1st quarter 2021, likely 2nd quarter. I think hopes for a January reset because a vaccine is out are likely to be dashed.
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Bolded: that doesn't have to be the sole thing that enables it.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
It would be ridiculous to watch a game with a QB who will likely go in the top 5 of the NFL draft next year? I wouldn't mind seeing what all the hype is about myself, but I guess that's just crazy?
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The point is the guy was saying nobody would watch a Rose Bowl with the Big Ten and Pac 12 champions if it wasn't part of the CFP. First, the statement is ignorant because the Rose Bowl isn't part of the CFP half of the normal years already. Second, I guarantee a Rose Bowl in the spring would crush any NDSU game on interest and viewership by a lot.

So your point is .....?
 

I think one of the real keys to all of this is coming up with an accurate and reliable rapid testing system.

If you could theoretically test every player every day, with same-day results, that would allow for much better isolation of positive cases, immediate treatment (convalescent plasma?) and contact tracing.

Until there is a vaccine, you cannot eliminate all risk, but with rapid testing, you could minimize the risk to the point where the B1G Presidents might have enough of their butts covered to sign off on the deal.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I think one of the real keys to all of this is coming up with an accurate and reliable rapid testing system.

If you could theoretically test every player every day, with same-day results, that would allow for much better isolation of positive cases, immediate treatment (convalescent plasma?) and contact tracing.

Until there is a vaccine, you cannot eliminate all risk, but with rapid testing, you could minimize the risk to the point where the B1G Presidents might have enough of their butts covered to sign off on the deal.
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Yeah outside that ... its' a lot of guesswork.
 


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