Penn State football continued practice Monday as Big Ten cancellation reports heat up
Penn State football may be inching closer to having its season canceled. According to reports from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, the “Power-5” conferences are moving toward canceling fall sports this year, and according to a report from the Detroit Free Press, the decision has already been made.
Despite the uncertainty, however, Penn State held its regularly scheduled practice Monday morning, as confirmed by the Centre Daily Times, and no official announcement has been made.
The reports from ESPN and SI were published Sunday night, just four days after the Big Ten released its revised football schedule for the fall. The “Power-5” is made up of the Atlantic Coastal Conference, the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Pac-12, and the Southeastern conference.
The report from the Detroit Free Press was published Monday morning and said the conference voted to cancel the season “in a historic move that stems from concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”
After that report was published, the Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein tweeted that a top-level Big Ten source informed him that “no final decisions have been made,” but the sports writer added that “I think we all know where this is headed.”
According to SI’s report, the conversations have reached “a critical stage.”
“I think all of us will be meeting with our boards in the coming days,” a conference commissioner said, according to SI. “We have work to do that is no fun.”
ESPN’s report cited the Big Ten as the conference leading the charge to cancel the season, led by its presidents. The conference is reportedly gauging the interest of the other four conferences in falling in line if they make the call to suspend the season.
While the decision would cancel sports in the fall, it doesn’t mean there would be no football. According to ESPN’s report, “a vast majority of Big Ten presidents” have indicated their intentions to postpone the football season and potentially move it to the spring.
Several reports are indicating an official announcement will happen Tuesday.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 12:53 PM.
CORRECTION: In an update to this story, Penn State’s second practice, scheduled for this afternoon, has been canceled, a source with knowledge of the situation told the Centre Daily Times.
