Nebraska has suspended all football activities as a wave of cancellations in the sports world continued Thursday amid increased concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conferences throughout the country, including the Big Ten, canceled their men’s basketball tournaments early in the day. A few hours later the NCAA announced that it had canceled all championship events for spring and winter sports, including the lucrative basketball tournaments that have become a March fixture.
Then came even more drastic measures as the Big Ten canceled all winter and spring sports for its schools “including spring sports that compete beyond the academic year, and participation in all NCAA tournaments and competitions. In addition, the Conference has announced a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.”
Spring football, not specifically mentioned in the Big Ten mandate, was the biggest remaining question. As of early Thursday morning, Nebraska was scheduled to carry on with the spring football practices it began March 9. The Huskers would practice with their normal schedule through March 20, the point at which the university went on spring break.
But UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green, on Thursday afternoon, announced the cancellation of classes next week. Upon return from spring break on March 30, “all spring semester classes will be taught remotely and will not be taught in-person.” Nebraska’s decision to suspend football activities followed.
As of this writing, Penn State and Michigan had made official announcements suspending football in the spring.
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.
