Alabama Football: Big Ten decides to cancel its 2020 season

Alabama football and other SEC schools react to B1G in canceling fall season.

Alabama football fans are disappointed in an expected but dreaded decision. As was speculated for several days, the Big Ten will not play football this fall. A formal announcement is expected Tuesday. The Detroit Free Press reported the story from “multiple” but until Tuesday, anonymous sources.

As reported by Dan Patrick, the Big Ten Presidents voted 12-2 to cancel the fall season. The two dissenting votes came from Nebraska and Iowa.

The Pac 12 has a meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Aug. 11). There is a strong belief, the Big Ten is lobbying the Pac to come to the same conclusion. Adam Zagoria, writing for Forbes, reported fall season cancellations will be announced by the Big Ten and the Pac 12 on Tuesday.

Alabama football fans are hoping the SEC, along with possibly the Big 12 and the ACC decide to go forward. Will there be sudden exits from any conference not playing in 2020? Perhaps, but it is not likely. Nebraska and Iowa (particularly Iowa) are not leaving the B1G over one canceled season.

There could be an early-stage, trial run at building one or more Super Conferences. The SEC and the Big 12 might be inclined to entertain a loose alliance for the 2020 season, possibly allowing attrition by schools not wanting to play. More fundamental and permanent change, if ever feasible, would take at least months of preparation and negotiation.

Official word from the SEC, Big 12 and ACC is not expected before a decision by the Pac 12. The Power Five Commissioners talk every day. Many influential athletic directors, like Greg Byrne, can influence the direction of more than Alabama football or other elite programs.

Bryne and the SEC’s Greg Sankey will make statements on Monday. Nothing substantive can be said until more is known. The eventual decision-makers are the college Presidents and Chancellors.

Is it possible, the group of SEC educators and administrators might choose to go forward alone? It is possible. It is not likely. A better chance would be an abbreviated season of a couple of dozen SEC, Big 12 and ACC teams beginning play sometime in October. At this point, anything resembling a 10-game regular season has to include contingency plans for completing the season in the spring.

Not a single person affiliated with Alabama football, as a fan, player, or by profession wants the 2020 season to go away. What will happen next cannot be predicted.