HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn canceled its 2020-2021 football season Wednesday, becoming the first FBS program to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic, after other schools had taken the Huskies off their schedules and the governor was reluctant to allow players to travel to states with high infection rates.
UConn had been scheduled to play its first season as an independent after leaving the American Athletic Conference.
The Huskies had already been taken off the schedules of Illinois, Indiana, Maine and Mississippi by those schools, and games against North Carolina and Virginia remained uncertain, UConn officials said. Many of the Power Five conferences are playing league-only games this season.
But coach Randy Edsall said the decision had nothing to do with UConn’s conference status.
“If I was the head coach in a conference — a Power Five conference, a Group of Five conference — I’d be saying the same thing. I’d be doing the same thing,” Edsall said. “Because these young men’s lives are more important than money.”
Big Ten schedule
The Big Ten released its 10-game conference-only football schedule beginning as early as Labor Day weekend but cautioned Wednesday there is no certainty games will be played.
The Big Ten was the last of the Power Five conferences to announce its schedule as college football navigates how to play games amid the coronavirus pandemic.
At least four Big Ten football programs have been impacted by COVID-19. Outbreaks forced the shutdown of voluntary workouts at Ohio State, Michigan State, Rutgers and Northwestern.
“We’re approaching this entire process on a day-to-day basis,” Commissioner Kevin Warren said on the Big Ten Network. “We’re gathering medical information daily, we’re communicating with all of our constituents in the Big Ten and communicating with student-athletes. This will not be a straight line this year.”
Under the revised schedule, teams will play conference opponents they originally were set to meet and will have one additional cross-division game.
The regular season starts the weekend of Sept. 5 and runs through Nov. 21. There is a built-in cushion allowing for makeup games to be played, if necessary. The 10 games would be played over at least 12 weeks, with each team having two open dates. Nov. 28 also is available for makeup games.
If the coronavirus situation dictates, the season could start Sept. 12, 19 or 26.
The Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis remains scheduled for Dec. 5 but could moved as late as Dec. 19.
The conference will allow teams to begin preseason practices Friday, or earlier if a team’s season begins before Sept. 5.
The Associated Press
