Indiana football may be back, but that news isn’t all good
It seemed like ominous news for all of college sports the day the Big Ten and Pac-12 decided to cancel their football seasons. The first two dominos had fallen. The two leagues had set the precedent that it was not safe to have college football and the rest of the conferences were sure to follow.
But that isn’t what happened. What once seemed like a tone-setting move for the rest of the NCAA football landscape is now one of the Big Ten’s biggest mistakes. College football isn’t happening absent from COVID-related concerns, but it’s happening. The first week of meaningful college football went on without a hitch.
When the Big Ten canceled the season in mid-August, there were more concerns and questions than answers. The NFL and the NCAA were set to come back but could have been postponed at any moment if there was a virus flare-up. The boldness of the Big-Ten to cancel — not postpone, cancel — their football season now just seems out of line.
New Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was obviously trying to do what he deemed to be the right thing. His priority was to keep student-athletes and fans safe. However, making such a drastic decision so early in the process was incredibly out of line. The SEC, ACC, and Big 12 all stuck to their guns and planned to carry on with football anyways, and it has worked just fine. Now, the Big Ten is reversing their decision and joining them.
People in the midwest are just happy for football to be back, especially Indiana Football fans that are expecting a potentially program-changing season. It certainly is a day to celebrate the return of football.
However, as time goes on, the football honeymoon phase is going to wear off and people should become concerned with the leadership in the Big Ten Conference. The decision to cancel football when almost no one else did makes the conference look weak. It gives off the appearance that they won’t do anything they can to fight for sports to happen, and that they are willing to settle.
I live in Alabama. Say what you want about Alabama and it is most likely true, but the Big Ten is a laughing stock down here. When people insult the conference, all I can do is agree with them. They flinched and made a bad decision counter to what everyone else did and it turned out very poorly. While I’m happy they reversed their decision today, it just shows that even the conference leadership knows that they made a mistake that will be remembered for a long time.
Today is a good day to adore football, but it should also be a day where you consider the competence of the Big Ten.