Is a tectonic change coming to college sports?

[Not A Serious Person]

Essentially this is a call to gut the B1G and Pac-12.
Or, will Justin Fields (current tOSU QB) be the next Oklahoma QB to win the Heisman?

Kiffin: Allow Big Ten, Pac-12 players to transfer
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29696072/ole-miss-rebels-coach-lane-kiffin-wants-transfer-waiver-players-postponed-seasons

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin says players whose conferences have decided to postpone fall sports should be free to transfer without penalty.

During an appearance on the SEC Network on Tuesday, Kiffin said it's a "shame" that players are unable to do so.

"Kids are having their schools or their conferences deciding to shut down, so they can't play, and a lot of them have a lot of money on the line with the next level, or they just want to play their last year," Kiffin said. "So it's really unfortunate that the NCAA is not allowing them to transfer and be eligible immediately. We're being told that won't even go into a waiver process, so I feel really bad for those kids. It's not their fault. Why can't they come play somewhere? That doesn't make any sense to me."

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Essentially this is a call to gut the B1G and Pac-12.
Or, will Justin Fields (current tOSU QB) be the next Oklahoma QB to win the Heisman?

Kiffin: Allow Big Ten, Pac-12 players to transfer
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29696072/ole-miss-rebels-coach-lane-kiffin-wants-transfer-waiver-players-postponed-seasons

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin says players whose conferences have decided to postpone fall sports should be free to transfer without penalty.

During an appearance on the SEC Network on Tuesday, Kiffin said it's a "shame" that players are unable to do so.

"Kids are having their schools or their conferences deciding to shut down, so they can't play, and a lot of them have a lot of money on the line with the next level, or they just want to play their last year," Kiffin said. "So it's really unfortunate that the NCAA is not allowing them to transfer and be eligible immediately. We're being told that won't even go into a waiver process, so I feel really bad for those kids. It's not their fault. Why can't they come play somewhere? That doesn't make any sense to me."

1. It's not happening.  Just like the guy who claimed that various B10 schools were going to leave the conference this season wasn't happening.

2. Lane should worry about his own house.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2020/08/19/13-ole-miss-athletes-positive-covid-19-officially-outbreak/5610788002/

[GooooMarquette]

Of course Lane Kiffin wants open transfers, because it gives him (and a subset of other P5 coaches) immediate access to a huge pool high-quality players.

But I wonder what Lane’s borderline starters and second-stringers think of his eagerness to loot tOSU, UM, et al....

[Not A Serious Person]

1. It's not happening.  Just like the guy who claimed that various B10 schools were going to leave the conference this season wasn't happening.

2. Lane should worry about his own house.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/ole-miss/2020/08/19/13-ole-miss-athletes-positive-covid-19-officially-outbreak/5610788002/

But doesn't Kiffin have a point?  Justin Fields is screaming and starting online petitions to play this fall.  Why should he, and all the other B1G and Pac-12 players, be punished? 

If the B1G wants to cancel, that is their right.  Shouldn't Fields also have the right to transfer now to a team that is playing thsi fall?

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

But doesn't Kiffin have a point?  Justin Fields is screaming and starting online petitions to play this fall.  Why should he, and all the other B1G and Pac-12 players, be punished? 

They are playing in the Spring.

[Pakuni]

They are playing in the Spring.

Justin Fields won't be playing in the spring. Nor will just about any other player with NFL aspirations.

[Uncle Rico]

But doesn't Kiffin have a point?  Justin Fields is screaming and starting online petitions to play this fall.  Why should he, and all the other B1G and Pac-12 players, be punished? 

If the B1G wants to cancel, that is their right.  Shouldn't Fields also have the right to transfer now to a team that is playing thsi fall?

I’m all for letting them transfer.  It’ll seem stupid after those leagues cancel their seasons as well but he should definitely go for it

[GooooMarquette]

But doesn't Kiffin have a point?  Justin Fields is screaming and starting online petitions to play this fall.  Why should he, and all the other B1G and Pac-12 players, be punished? 

If the B1G wants to cancel, that is their right.  Shouldn't Fields also have the right to transfer now to a team that is playing thsi fall?

So when the Big 12, SEC and ACC cancel their seasons, do the players who will be around after this year get to rescind their transfers and stay put? How would that work from an academic standpoint - bouncing from school to school during the semester in an attempt to play a season that will never be played?

Seems like allowing immediate transfers just fosters false hope. Just look at the COVID prevalence and positivity rates in Big 12, SEC and ACC country - it isn't if they will cancel; it's when.

[Uncle Rico]

So when the Big 12, SEC and ACC cancel their seasons, do the players who will be around after this year get to rescind their transfers and stay put? How would that work from an academic standpoint - bouncing from school to school during the semester in an attempt to play a season that will never be played?

Seems like allowing immediate transfers just fosters false hope. Just look at the COVID prevalence and positivity rates in Big 12, SEC and ACC country - it isn't if they will cancel; it's when.

While I appreciate Justin Fields unwavering desire to play football, if there were any adults in the room at Ohio State, they’d be encouraging Justin to begin draft prep instead of chasing the dragon. 

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Justin Fields won't be playing in the spring. Nor will just about any other player with NFL aspirations.

Oh. So that’s their choice whether or not to play.

[Pakuni]

Oh. So that’s their choice whether or not to play.

Right, but it explains why players like Fields are still pushing for a fall season. Because they know even if there's a spring season - and, IMO, that's no more likely than a fall season - they won't be a part of it. It's going to the P5 version of JV football.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Right, but it explains why players like Fields are still pushing for a fall season. Because they know even if there's a spring season - and, IMO, that's no more likely than a fall season - they won't be a part of it. It's going to the P5 version of JV football.

If the NCAA allowed players with one more year of eligibility to transfer between now and 9/1 I’d be fine with that.

[Not A Serious Person]

This includes Wisconsin

Also looking to play with the stadiums 20% to 30% full.

Report: Despite Big Ten Postponement, Ohio State Still Trying to Create 10-Game Fall Schedule

Longtime college football writer Jeff Snook says Ohio State is leading the charge to convince several other schools in the league to play this fall. Read more.

https://www.si.com/.amp-ohiostate/college/ohiostate/football/ohio-state-still-exploring-playing-fall-season

[Not A Serious Person]

I’ll bet that when the B1G decided to not play this fall, they thought their action would set the tone for all of college football and everyone that decided to play would be called upon to explain themselves.

Instead it is the opposite, the B1G is still explaining why they are not playing.

Specifically. 

* why is Iowa State (B12) playing but Iowa is not.

* why is ND (ACC) playing but Indiana and Purdue are not.

* why is Cincinnati playing but Ohio State is not.

* why are Temple and Pitt playing but Penn State is not.

Again. Iowa State, ND, Cincinnati, Temple and Pitt are not being asked to explain themselves as much as The B1G is constantly being asked to explain its decision.

The B1G still does not have a good answer which is why these stories of rebellion won’t go away.

[Uncle Rico]

I’ll bet that when the B1G decided to not play this fall, they thought their action would set the tone for all of college football and everyone that decided to play would be called upon to explain themselves.

Instead it is the opposite, the B1G is still explaining why they are not playing.

Specifically. 

* why is Iowa State (B12) playing but Iowa is not.

* why is ND (ACC) playing but Indiana and Purdue is not.

* why is Cincinnati playing but Ohio State is not.

* why is Temple and Pitt are playing but Penn State is not.

Again. Iowa State, ND, Cincinnati, Temple and Pitt are not being asked to explain themselves as much as The B1G is constantly being asked to explain its decision.

The B1G still does not have a good answer which is why these stories of rebellion won’t go away.

Lucky for the Big Ten, the pandemic isn’t going away

[MU82]

I’ll bet that when the B1G decided to not play this fall, they thought their action would set the tone for all of college football and everyone that decided to play would be called upon to explain themselves.

Instead it is the opposite, the B1G is still explaining why they are not playing.

Specifically. 

* why is Iowa State (B12) playing but Iowa is not.

* why is ND (ACC) playing but Indiana and Purdue are not.

* why is Cincinnati playing but Ohio State is not.

* why are Temple and Pitt playing but Penn State is not.

Again. Iowa State, ND, Cincinnati, Temple and Pitt are not being asked to explain themselves as much as The B1G is constantly being asked to explain its decision.

The B1G still does not have a good answer which is why these stories of rebellion won’t go away.

None of them are playing yet.

We'll see if any of them do.

At least one of the schools you name (ND) already has had to shift from in-person to remote-only learning. That school also has decided not to return to practice for several days.

Oh, and the Big Ten commissioner said the decision on fall sports is final and will not be revisited: https://www.si.com/college/2020/08/20/big-ten-decision-no-fall-football-final-kevin-warren

[Pakuni]

Oh, and the Big Ten commissioner said the decision on fall sports is final and will not be revisited: https://www.si.com/college/2020/08/20/big-ten-decision-no-fall-football-final-kevin-warren

Yeah, but does he know about SirYacht?

[Not A Serious Person]

Yeah, but does he know about SirYacht?

Jeff Snook is a sportwriter that has written 14 books, including co-authoring Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's autobiography.  He has written four books related to Ohio State football, including "What It Means To Be a Buckeye"

He lives in Ashland Ohio and is as plugged into Ohio State sports are any sports writer in the country.

Siryacht is a blogger about Ohio State sports and references Snook many times.  (some think Snook is Sir Yacht's source).

---

But I get it, your role here is to merely troll.

[Not A Serious Person]

Snook posted his info on his Facebook page (he is not on twitter).

BREAKING: OHIO STATE’S A.D. WORKING ON PLAN TO GET FIVE OTHER BIG TEN TEAMS TO PARTICIPATE IN 10-GAME SCHEDULE THIS FALL

BY JEFF SNOOK

No matter what has been stated publicly, Ohio State’s hierarchy hasn’t yet given up on playing football this fall.

Athletic Director Gene Smith, with the full support of school president-elect Kristina Johnson, has been working behind the scenes for the past six days to organize fellow Big Ten conference athletic directors in convincing at least five other university presidents that to move forward with a 10-game season to be played among six teams, a source familiar with the movement told me today.

In this proposed format, each team would play the other five Big Ten teams who are participating twice -- once at home and once on the road, beginning on either Sept. 26 or Oct. 3. The season would conclude by mid-December and there would no Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.

As of Tuesday night, I was told that Penn State President Eric Barron, Nebraska President Walter “Ted” Carter and Iowa President Bruce Harreld are on board with the new plan. The group hopes to convince two other universities, notably the University of Wisconsin and the University of Michigan, to join them.

“They really need to flip Wisconsin and Michigan to get to six schools and make this thing work,” the source told me. “And they have only so much time to do it. They need to make progress and get it done in the next seven to 10 days.”

Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, who coached the Badgers from 1990-2005, is a strong advocate for the plan but has yet to convince UW President Drew Peterson, the source said. Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manual, a former Wolverine player under Bo Schembechler, and coach Jim Harbaugh also want to compete this fall season, but school president Mark Schlissel has so far opposed their efforts. Schlissel, who has a medical degree, spoke in support of “player safety” after the Big Ten’s announcement to cancel last week.

“This thing probably won’t go anywhere unless certain Big Ten presidents – like those at Michigan and Wisconsin – feel the pressure from their alumni, fans and especially their major donors,” the source said. “I understand that several seven- and eight-figure donors at Michigan are very unhappy with the Big Ten’s decision and are putting pressure on their president to change his mind. And they may be threatening to withhold their money.

“If they can get six schools to participate, the remaining Big Ten schools then have the choice to either join them or opt out of the season.”

Many athletic directors and college football coaches, including Smith and Day among others, have contended their players are safer from contracting Covid-19 within the confines, protocols and testing of their athletic facilities than they would be in the general population on campus or in their hometowns.

Several attempts to reach Smith Tuesday night for comment were unsuccessful.

Smith’s efforts in this new plan also were helped somewhat when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine earlier Tuesday approved high school football to be played this fall, meaning a powerful duo of the state governor and the university president agree on the issue.

Sources Monday night said that the Big Ten presidents never voted on the issue before the conference adjourned its meeting last week and it was announced through new commissioner Kevin Warren that they were canceling the fall season. During the session among the presidents, Warren spoke often of preferring this season be pushed to the spring. And he repeated those thoughts on the Big Ten Network immediately following the announcement. The PAC 12 then cancelled its season within an hour.

The following morning, on Wednesday, I am told, Smith called Warren to see if there was any path for the Buckeyes to play this season and was shot down immediately. Smith then told the media later that day that the Ohio State athletic department would support the Big Ten’s decision to begin preparing for a spring football season. But Smith had not given up on salvaging the fall season, going to work immediately to gauge other schools’ interest in his plan.

Nebraska Athletic Director Bill Moos and coach Scott Frost also were very critical of the Big Ten’s decision, leading Warren to publicly rebuke the Cornhuskers’ leadership the following day. That day, the Big 12, ACC and SEC repeated their plans to continue with practices and its plans to play the fall season. The ACC plans to begin it schedule the weekend of Sept. 12, and the Big 12 and SEC are scheduled to kick off on Sept. 26.

In the past five days, parents of players at Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State have been very vocal in their opposition to the Big Ten’s cancellation. Several have organized and sent letters to Warren’s office. Several others, led by Randy Wade, Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade's father, also had planned to confront Warren Friday in Chicago. However, one source said Tuesday that Warren has yet to relocate to the Big Ten’s Chicago offices from his home in Minneapolis, where he worked as the chief operating officer of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings until he was hired five months ago to replace longtime commissioner Jim Delany.

Johnson, who succeeded former President Michael Drake and “pushed hard” during last week’s Big Ten presidential meeting to have teams continue practicing and then have a delayed start to the season from the original Sept. 3-5 kickoff the Big Ten had announced just six days earlier.

“Gene Smith, to his credit, created this grass-roots movement to get this done,” the source said. “He was heartbroken for Coach (Ryan) Day and those players and he has the new president’s full support.”

Several sources said that Day has been almost inconsolable in private, knowing he had a team that was potentially as good as any in college football. The Buckeyes finished 13-1 in his first full season, losing 29-23 to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal in Glendale, Ariz.

Critics have been many – including former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer to current Alabama coach Nick Saban -- of the Big Ten’s latest plan to play football both in the spring and in the fall of 2021. Many of the league’s top NFL-eligible talent, such as Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Wade, likely would opt out of a spring season so close to their upcoming NFL rookie seasons. And underclassmen would face the burden of playing two seasons within a 10- or 11-month period, depending when the Big Ten would decide to begin its spring season.

“No chance,” Meyer said on the Big Ten Network last week. "You can't ask a player to play two seasons in a calendar year. When I first heard that, I said that. I don't see that happening when I hear that. The body, in my very strong opinion, is not made to play two seasons within a calendar year. That's 2,000 repetitive reps, and football is a physical, tough sport. So, I don't, really don't, see that happening.”

Saban said Tuesday, “I think one of the real consequences of this is if you’re a junior or a senior and you have an NFL grade, are you going to play in the spring? Or is that going to become sort of a JV season with a lot of these juniors and seniors opting out? …

“I’m in no way judging what anybody’s trying to do or not do. But our medical experts here thought that we could try to do this [and] create a safe environment and see if we can play. And I think that’s what we’re doing, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job of that.”

There is no doubt that if the SEC, as well as the ACC and Big 12, do pull it off and play this season – and the Big Ten does not – there will be long-lasting ramifications for the Big Ten.

“That’s the Big Ten’s worst nightmare,” the source said. “And Gene Smith is very smart, smart enough to realize just how bad it would be in the long run.”

[MU82]

Snook posted his info on his Facebook page (he is not on twitter).

BREAKING: OHIO STATE’S A.D. WORKING ON PLAN TO GET FIVE OTHER BIG TEN TEAMS TO PARTICIPATE IN 10-GAME SCHEDULE THIS FALL

Interesting article. Thanks for posting.

We'll see if it happens.

We'll see if any college football team plays a single game.

Although I'm not big on experimenting with human lives, I admit it all will be fascinating to observe.

[Not A Serious Person]

None of them are playing yet.

We'll see if any of them do.

At least one of the schools you name (ND) already has had to shift from in-person to remote-only learning. That school also has decided not to return to practice for several days.

Oh, and the Big Ten commissioner said the decision on fall sports is final and will not be revisited: https://www.si.com/college/2020/08/20/big-ten-decision-no-fall-football-final-kevin-warren

Two things can be right at once.

Kevin Warren is correct that the "official" B1G position is this is settled and their will be no football this fall.

And Snook can be right (post immediately above) that Geno Smith (AD of Ohio State) is talking to Barry Alvarez (AD of Wisconsin) along with Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan and Penn State about forming a six team, 10 game schedule for this fall.

Then Smith will dare Warren and the B1G to kick these six schools out of the conference for going around them.

[Pakuni]

Jeff Snook is a sportwriter that has written 14 books, including co-authoring Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's autobiography.  He has written four books related to Ohio State football, including "What It Means To Be a Buckeye"

He lives in Ashland Ohio and is as plugged into Ohio State sports are any sports writer in the country.

Siryacht is a blogger about Ohio State sports and references Snook many times.  (some think Snook is Sir Yacht's source).

---

But I get it, your role here is to merely troll.

Yes, Heisey, I'm the troll.
I guess we'll see in September.

[GooooMarquette]

So the B10 formally announces no football, then threatens to kick Nebraska out of the conference if they play elsewhere. Now half the conference is looking to create a 'mini schedule' and play anyway?

If this occurs, the conference will forever lose all credibility and authority when it makes a 'decision' in the future. Everyone - from players, to coaches, to ADs, to fans - will view 'final decisions' as simply the opening offer in a bargaining process....

[Uncle Rico]

So the B10 formally announces no football, then threatens to kick Nebraska out of the conference if they play elsewhere. Now half the conference is looking to create a 'mini schedule' and play anyway?

If this occurs, the conference will forever lose all credibility and authority when it makes a 'decision' in the future. Everyone - from players, to coaches, to ADs, to fans - will view 'final decisions' as simply the opening offer in a bargaining process....

Lawyers are lining up at those campuses for the lawsuits.

[Not A Serious Person]

So the B10 formally announces no football, then threatens to kick Nebraska out of the conference if they play elsewhere. Now half the conference is looking to create a 'mini schedule' and play anyway?

If this occurs, the conference will forever lose all credibility and authority when it makes a 'decision' in the future. Everyone - from players, to coaches, to ADs, to fans - will view 'final decisions' as simply the opening offer in a bargaining process....

Like I noted above, I’m sure the Big Ten thought that once they made the decision they were setting the standard for everybody. Instead the decision is tearing the conference apart.

Maybe at the end of the day there is no fall play.  But, right now, all is not well in the land of the Big Ten.