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Will all conferences bail on fall football after Big Ten, Pac-12 postpone their seasons?

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If not unexpected, given the state of sports against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, the announcements Tuesday from the Big Ten and Pac-12 …
If not unexpected, given the state of sports against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, the announcements Tuesday from the Big Ten and Pac-12 represent one of the most stunning moments in the history of college athletics. The decisions not to play football in the fall could cause a domino effect across the remaining Power Five conferences, leading to the postponement of the entire Bowl Subdivision season with the hope of picking back up in the spring. By making the first move, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have forced the rest of the Power Five to quickly address two questions that will decide the overall fate of the coming season: Is it possible to justify competition when other Power Five leagues have decided to table play at least through the winter? And can three or even two leagues compete as standalone bodies without all the accompanying pieces to a normal season — up to and including the College Football Playoff? Even if willing to overlook the optics of moving ahead while other conferences press pause, those members of the Power Five that continue with an altered season would do so in the face of the same medical concerns that drove Tuesday’s decisions. The Big Ten chose in early July to eliminate non-conference games as a way to provide scheduling flexibility and slightly minimize risks associated with COVID-19. That change was quickly mirrored by the Pac-12, a league long in lockstep with the Big Ten, followed by the ACC, Big 12 and SEC, though the ACC and Big 12 allowed members to play a single non-conference game under certain limitations. As a decision, the scheduling changes achieved one primary goal: to buy time and wiggle room as conference administrators and medical advisors weighed potential options to handling health and safety concerns.

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