The Big Ten is a part of Division 1 of college athletics in the United States. The president of the football league and chancellors have announced the start of the football competition from 24th October 2020. The voting was unanimous, according to the report given out after the conference on Wednesday. The authorities stated that they believe in the medical technologies of the country, and with the government working on full swing with daily testing activities being carried out, the event is not going to be difficult.

They have set the schedule in a way that every team will participate in eight games within eight weeks. They want to complete the Big Ten before the college football playoff. Sandy Barbour, the Athletic Director of State, has said that their matches will be conducted behind closed doors on the campus, and no fans or spectators will be allowed. The committee is working to make room for the players’ family members within specific guidelines.

What measures is the management taking before the resumption of the Big Ten Conference?

In August, the Big Ten Conference had postponed the tournament considering the safety issues. Voting results came out 11-3 because of which they had to wait for the game. They are coming up with strategies to conduct the event safely. On 30th September, testing programs will be conducted across all the campuses daily. The conference will also be adopting a data-driven approach. If any of the players test positive, they will have to stay quarantined for 21 days before returning to the competition. If any team’s positivity rate increases by more than 7.5 %, all their training activities will be stopped immediately. Talks have begun on what has changed concerning the earlier times that it will lead to resuming the game. People say that Trump has pressurized the authorities to continue the football season.

Why are the Democrats against the restart of the conference?

Democrats have pointed out that colleges are carrying out athletic activities without sufficient protections. The democrats have also mentioned that the number of cases is increasing. Consequently, the health and safety of college athletes should be the priority. If anyone contracts the virus, it can lead to long-term effects such as muscle inflammation, myocarditis, etc. Universities are also not giving the count on the number of tests done or how many have tested positive. Kevin Warren, the Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, has mentioned that the decision to start the event was taken considering the mental and physical welfare of the students. They will also do contact tracing along with regular testing. The competition will begin on 23rd October and will go till 12th December 2020. Barry Alvarez, the athletic director of the Wisconsin University, mentioned that they would release the schedule next week.