The latest precautionary move on the part of the Big Ten in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic appears to eliminate the potential for spring football practices for all conference schools for the next three weeks.
On March 13, the Big Ten released the following statement:
“The Big Ten Conference announced today that all organized team activities have been suspended until April 6, 2020 and will be re-evaluated at that time.
“The Big Ten has previously announced that in addition to canceling the Men’s Basketball Tournament it will be canceling all conference and nonconference competitions through the end of the academic year, including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, and participation in all NCAA tournaments and competitions. The Conference also has announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.
“The Big Ten Conference will use this time to work with the appropriate medical experts and institutional leadership to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Nebraska has yet to officially announce that spring practices will not continue, though the latest Big Ten decision appears to eliminate any question about their status.
The most recent update from Nebraska football came the morning of March 12. At that point the Huskers were still planning to continue with practice as scheduled, but since that email went out to local reporters UNL has canceled classes for the week of March 16 and the Big Ten has canceled the remaining seasons for all winter and spring sports, as well as in-person and on-campus recruiting for all sports.
Prior to the Big Ten's announcement of the suspension of all team activities on Friday, a handful of football programs had already announced the suspension of team activities and cancellations of spring games.
Nebraska has yet to announce any change to the spring game, currently scheduled for April 18.
Brandon is the Managing Editor for Hail Varsity and has covered Nebraska athletics for the magazine and web since 2012, Hail Varsity’s first season on the scene. His sports writing has also been featured by Fox Sports, The Guardian and CBS Sports.
