Big Ten football media days won’t be held as scheduled
The Blade
Fri, 22 May 2020 20:12:40 GMT
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The Big Ten Conference got in line with other leagues around the country Friday.
The conference announced its annual football media days will not go on as planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Following discussions with Big Ten member institutions, the Big Ten Conference announced today that the 2020 Big Ten Football Media Days and Kickoff Luncheon scheduled to take place July 22-23 in Chicago will not be held as scheduled in order to ensure the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans, partners and media,” the Big Ten said in a news release. “The Conference will continue to monitor developing information and continue to consult with medical experts to determine the appropriate dates and format for our annual event.”
Six other conferences have opted against in-person media events: the Big 12, the Pac-12, the AAC, Conference USA, the MAC, and the Mountain West. All six chose virtual formats. The SEC and the ACC are still on as scheduled.
Big Ten media days usually feature players and head coaches from all 14 league teams speaking about the upcoming season.
On the playing field, the Big Ten banned all organized team activities until at least June 1. Ohio State and Iowa will bring football players to campus for voluntary workouts June 8. Illinois has announced it will do the same as early as June 3.