An Ohio State-Rutgers football game in 2016. Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images
The Big Ten announced Wednesday that it will begin its football season during the weekend of Oct. 23-24, backed by daily coronavirus testing for all on-field personnel and enhanced cardiac screenings.
Why it matters: The conference was the first Power 5 league to postpone its 2020 fall sports seasons because of coronavirus concerns.
John Calipari and Anthony Davis at the 2012 ESPY Awards. Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
John Calipari has coached a veritable who's who of current NBA talent in his 11 years at Kentucky, producing 29 first-round picks — but not a single NBA champion.
Yes, but: This could be the year his streak ends, as five of the seven remaining teams have at least one of Calipari's ex-Wildcats on their roster.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
With all due respect to last weekend's slate of games, college football started in earnest last night when Miami beat UAB, 31-14, to kick off the Power 5 season.
The state of play... Power 5: ACC and Big 12 begin this weekend; SEC starts on Sept. 26; Big Ten and Pac-12 are postponed until the spring.
Rodney Dixon, a University of Iowa football dad (left), and Randy White, an Ohio State dad, during a parents' protest outside Big Ten HQ in Rosemont, Ill., on Aug. 21. Photo: Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP
As college football kicks off in earnest over the holiday weekend, 77 of the 130 major teams are playing this fall, while the other 53, including the entire Big Ten and Pac-12, have postponed their seasons, AP reports.
The state of play: Players are being COVID-tested three times a week. Positive tests will send players to isolation for at least 10 days and players deemed to be close contacts of those who test positive will face two-week quarantines. Masks must be worn on the sidelines. And with no Big Ten or Pac-12, both of which postponed their seasons and hope to make them up, there'll be no No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State or No. 9 Oregon.
Go deeper: College football's coronavirus confusion isn't new
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
If football and men's basketball players at Power 5 colleges were paid under collective bargaining agreements like their professional peers in the NFL and NBA, they would earn annual salaries of $360,000 and $500,000, respectively.
Driving the news: That's according to a new study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which also estimates that high-profile athletes like quarterbacks ($2.4 million per year on average) and every starting player on a basketball team (between $800,000 and $1.2 million per year) would earn significantly more.
Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Alabama football coach Nick Saban marched on Monday against social injustices and police brutality with dozens of football players along his side through Alabama University.
The big picture: Sports teams and leagues are taking a bigger stand this year than they ever have in previous years. The police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. prompted NBA players to boycott games for the first time.
Stanford celebrates winning the 2019 women's soccer national title. Photo: Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
With college football grabbing most of the headlines, it's easy to forget the other fall sports that have been affected by the pandemic.
The state of play: The NCAA has postponed all fall championships (outside of FBS football), while regular season decisions are up to conferences and schools.
Nick Saban in his practice field mask. Photo: University of Alabama
Most schools have postponed college football, and others are dealing with coronavirus outbreaks — yet the season remains on track to begin in a few weeks for six of the 10 biggest conferences.
The big picture: It's not an exact parallel, but college football faced similar confusion and uncertainty 102 years ago, when the 1918 influenza pandemic — combined with WWI — led to a bizarre, shortened season.
The splintering of big-time college football has set the stage for even more drama as the fall inches closer and campuses start to re-open.
The state of play: The Big Ten and Pac-12 are planning for a possible spring season (a logistical nightmare) amid backlash from players and coaches. The SEC, Big 12 and ACC are still planning to play this fall, which has put move-in weekend under a microscope as students return to campus.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence on June 13. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
President Trump told reporters at a Saturday press conference that Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence called him about the upcoming college football season.
What they're saying: “...I want college football to come back. These are strong, healthy, incredible people. These are people that want to play football very badly," Trump said Saturday evening. "A great, great talented quarterback Trevor Lawrence called me two days ago; I spoke to him a couple times."