October Kickoffs: Big 10 Reverses Course On Football Season

The Washington Post: As Big Ten Returns, Trump Takes Credit And Safety Questions Linger 
Five weeks after postponing its football season over safety concerns, the Big Ten Conference reversed course Wednesday, saying it would play this fall even as its colleges and surrounding communities struggle to contain the novel coronavirus. The decision was cheered on not only by fans but by President Trump, who has used the conference’s decision to seek an edge in Midwestern battleground states where Big Ten football reigns. But it raised immediate questions, including from students, about the role politics and economics played in changing the minds of university presidents. (Maese, Giambalvo and Strauss, 9/16)

Politico: Big Ten Revives Football Season In Trump-Backed Turnaround
Wednesday's revival delivers a victory for President Donald Trump, who has demanded sports resume in an athletic conference that represents several swing states ahead of Election Day. The president has even intervened with calls to the Big Ten's commissioner. Conference presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to resume the football season starting the weekend of Oct. 23. Now the president is setting his sights on the western United States and the Pac-12 Conference, the last major college sports organization to hold out of playing a fall season. (Perez Jr., 9/16)

In other football news —

ESPN: Penn State Reports 50 Positive COVID-19 Tests Among Athletes
The Penn State athletic department announced Wednesday that 50 student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19 in its latest round of testing, which included 859 total tests. As part of the school's established protocol related to the coronavirus pandemic, the students who tested positive will be placed in isolation for 14 days, the school said, and contact tracing will be utilized to determine who else could have potentially been exposed to the virus. (Bonagura, 9/16)

AP: Florida Athletics Seeing A Rise In COVID Cases
Florida’s athletic department is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. The school reported 61 new positive cases Tuesday, including six for the football team a little more than a week before its season opener at Ole Miss. The spike in infections coincided with the return of student to campus and the start of classes. The Gators ceased activities with the school’s lacrosse and baseball programs due to dozens of positive results. Lacrosse reported 31 coronavirus cases, and baseball had 15. (9/15)

ESPN: Less Than Half Of College Trainers Say Coaches In Full Compliance With COVID-19 Protocols
About a third of college athletic trainers said their athletes were fully following COVID-19 safety protocols, and less than half reported that coaches and staff were in full compliance, according to a survey conducted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association. The survey of about 1,200 athletic trainers across college divisions showed that 59% of respondents said athletes were "somewhat" following COVID-19 protocols, and 46% said coaches and staff were somewhat following safety measures. (Lavigne, 9/11)

The Washington Post: University Of Georgia Forgoes On-Campus Voting While Embracing Football Games Amid Coronavirus Pandemic 
When Election Day comes in November, the roughly 38,000 students at the University of Georgia will have nowhere on campus to vote. The school on Wednesday blamed the novel coronavirus, saying long lines and insufficient indoor space made voting on campus too dangerous. Yet, as local politicians and observers were quick to note, the university has made numerous accommodations so that the fall football season can play out with crowds of up to 23,000 fans cramming into Sanford Stadium.“If we can have football, we should have voting, too,” the university chapter of Fair Fight, a voting rights advocacy group, tweeted on Wednesday. (Shepherd, 9/17)

In college basketball news —

NPR: NCAA Says College Basketball Season Can Start The Day Before Thanksgiving 
Athletes and fans anticipating the start of college basketball will have to wait a little bit longer. The NCAA Division I Council announced on Wednesday that the upcoming men's and women's basketball seasons can begin on Nov. 25, roughly two weeks later than originally planned, in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. (Treisman, 9/16)