COVID-19 is making one last run at the Big Ten football season.
IU Athletics announced on Tuesday evening that its football program has paused all team-related activities due to an increase in COVID-19 cases within the program.
In a release, the program indicated that no decision has been made on Saturday’s game against Purdue. Earlier in the day, the Purdue football program canceled its Tuesday practice as it awaited the results of COVID-19 testing.
The IU football team did not practice Tuesday morning and all players and Tier I coaches and staff underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.
The decision to pause was made by the IU Athletics Medical Advisory Group.
“The health and safety of our students, coaches and staff is paramount,” IU Vice President & Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson said. “In consultation with our medical experts, we decided this is the appropriate decision at this time. We will continue to assess the situation moving forward.”
Indiana is one of just four Big Ten teams, including Michigan, Penn State, and Rutgers, to play all seven of their scheduled games so far. That appears to be in jeopardy, along with a 100 year streak of contests between the Hoosiers and Boilermakers.
IU and Purdue have met every year since 1919.
It has been an eventful day in the Big Ten.
The Michigan – Ohio State game was canceled on Tuesday afternoon, at least temporarily placing Indiana in the Big Ten championship game due to a league requirement of six games played to reach the title game.
In a release the Big Ten said modifications to the “participation requirements as well as tiebreakers” were going to be discussed, possibly giving Ohio State an opportunity to play in the championship game.
The news created frustration among IU fans, who felt the league was going to bend its rules at their expense.
But now we are back to where things started in the late summer and into early fall.
Total and complete uncertainty.
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