Iowa football players voice support for season as Big Ten’s decision on fall sports looms

A decision on fall sports being canceled or postponed in expected to be announced by the Big Ten early this week.

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Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras makes a pass during a football game between Iowa and Middle Tennessee State at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, September 28, 2019. The Hawkeyes defeated the Blue Raiders, 48-3. (Shivansh Ahuja/The Daily Iowan)

Robert Read, Sports Editor
August 9, 2020

Commissioners of the Power Five conferences held a meeting on Sunday due to a growing concern among college athletics officials that fall sports, including the upcoming football season, cannot be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by ESPN.

Following a meeting on Saturday, Big Ten presidents are ready to “pull the plug” on fall sports seasons, several sources told ESPN. No vote was held at the Saturday meeting as the conference’s presidents wanted to gauge the plans of commissioners and university presidents and chancellors from the other Power Five conferences.

Big Ten presidents will meet again Sunday night.

Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio tweeted Sunday that Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has already informed SEC officials that the Big Ten will be canceling its fall college football season by Tuesday.

The Detroit Free Press reported Saturday that Warren prefers attempting to play this college football season in the spring rather than the fall.

The Big Ten released its new 10-game, conference-only football schedule on Wednesday. The conference also released its COVID-19 medical protocols.

RELATED: New Big Ten football schedule structured to ‘maximize flexibility’

Under the current schedule, Iowa’s first game of the season would be Sept. 5 versus Maryland at Kinnick Stadium.

After Iowa and several other Big Ten football teams started fall practices on Friday, the Big Ten announced Saturday that it was delaying the start of padded practices based on medical advice from the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee.

Earlier Saturday, the MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel its fall sports seasons due to concerns with COVID-19. The conference will attempt to play its football season in the spring.

RELATED: Big Ten delaying start of padded practices

As the Big Ten and the other Power Five conferences move closer to announcing that there will be no sports competing this fall, several Iowa football players are speaking out on Twitter.