This season, the Big Ten won't be playing any games with its teams.
The conference will not let these programs go after months of having a COVID vaccine readily available.
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On Monday, the conference announced that COVID issues will result in teams being unable to participate in conference matchups. Conference also stated that COVID issues can cause a game to be declared void.
Ryan Day, Ohio State's head coach, stated that most of his players had been vaccinated in July.
According to Tom Allen, Indiana's head coach, the team is now at 90 percent. Others like Purdue and Maryland, Northwestern, Illinois, and Illinois are also hovering around the 90% mark.
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa's head coach, stated that the Hawkeyes had 70 percent of their vaccines in place by late July. This number is likely to have risen since the start of fall practice.
The SEC also has flirted with the Big Tens new policy. Like the programs up North, most players in many SEC programs have been vaccinated.
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This is another way that college football's highest power tried to get faculty and players vaccinated against the virus in order to ensure that they could resume play this academic year.
It is easy to conclude that these conferences are only interested in making money. Players safety is secondary in the decisions they make. As long as these young players have protection against the virus that continues to place people in coffins and hospitals, then I don't care. Protecting faculty and players should not be motivated by money.
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Each conference should be following suit and taking extra steps to ensure that everyone is safe.
These conferences will increase the pressure on athletes, resulting in a safer environment for them.
