The fate of the 2020 NCAA football season has yet to be decided, but each passing day reveals more commitments to each side of whether teams should play or not.
After a report surfaced Sunday that Power 5 conferences were close to canceling the season, multiple reports on Monday showed conflicts between the conferences on which decision to make.
The ACC, Pitt's conference just might be forging ahead, per a report from CBS Sports citing multiple conference sources.
"We are trying to move forward [with playing] absolutely," one ACC official told the network. "[Canceling football in the next couple of days] could happen for some leagues. I'm not sure it's going to happen in the Atlantic Coast Conference."
A report from the Detroit Free Press noted sources who said the Big Ten conference had voted to cancel the season in a 12-2 vote among university presidents.
"It's done," one high-ranking source in the Big Ten said Monday afternoon.
That story was piggybacked by another report from Sports Illustrated that the Pac-12 conference would follow suit with the Big Ten if they voted to cancel their season.
However, conflicting reports on the status of the Big Ten surfaced as the day continued.
Later Monday evening, the Chicago Tribune reported that a decision hadn't been made by Big Ten officials, citing multiple sources who indicated that no votes or decisions had been submitted. One of the Tribune's sources stated, the 14 Big Ten universities “are on the same page about playing when it is safe to do so.”
The lack of a commitment from the Big Ten to not playing was supported in a tweet from ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit on Monday afternoon:
As we know this is a very fluid and ongoing situation. Things are said one minute and changed the next. So we’ll see what happens in the next 24-48 hours. Numerous options in play. We can all hope there will be CFB at some point. https://t.co/E0IILbjBWW
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) August 10, 2020
Whether the Big Ten commits to playing or not, officials of other Power 5 conferences show they're not close to any commitment to cancelling the season. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey tweeted a call for patience:
Best advice I’ve received since COVID-19: “Be patient. Take time when making decisions. This is all new & you’ll gain better information each day.” @SEC has been deliberate at each step since March...slowed return to practice...delayed 1st game to respect start of fall semester..
— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 10, 2020
Outside of the Power 5, the Mountain-West became the second conference to indefinitely postpone their football season.
"Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our students, student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and overall communities," said Dr. Mary Papazian, chair of the MWC board of directors. "The best interests of our students and student-athletes remain our focus and we will persist in our efforts to forge a viable and responsible path forward."
But as conference officials weighed in publicly and anonymously on either side of the conversation, collegiate athletes made their voices heard on social media with the #WeWantToPlay hashtag.
Clemson quarterback and 2018 national champion Trevor Lawrence posted the hashtag with a set of demands for NCAA football players during the season:
#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/jvQhE7noGB
— Trevor Lawrence (@Trevorlawrencee) August 10, 2020
College football players and coaches across the country joined in posting the hashtag, including Pat Narduzzi and multiple Pitt players:
#WeWantToPlay #DATway pic.twitter.com/VPvtLKdOX5
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) August 10, 2020
— Kenny Pickett (@kennypickett10) August 10, 2020
Man... this game is everything to me. I RISKED IT ALL 4 this game. Don’t take it away from me. #WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/ciaGJaFGvY
— Lucas Krull (@Lucas_Krull_) August 10, 2020
Alabama coach Nick Saban added to the conversation with a statement in favor of playing to ESPN.
"Players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home," Saban said to ESPN. "We have around a 2% positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of July. It's a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can't get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they're in a bar or just hanging out."
After all of the conflicting reports and stances from officials, coaches and players, uncertainty still surrounds the fate of the 2020 season. Divided stances will continue throughout the week, but as commissioner Sankey indicated, new information is revealed each day.
Pitt and the other 14 ACC universities look to have a better chance than schools in the Big Ten and Pac-12 at the moment, but new developments could sway the status of Power 5 conferences either way.
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