Terps May Not Play, Big Ten Expected To Cancel Football Season

COLLEGE PARK, MD — The Big Ten is expected to cancel its 2020 football season to slow the spread of coronavirus, reports say. The University of Maryland Terrapins may not play again until 2021.

Talk show host Dan Patrick reported that the Terps' conference voted to cancel the season during a Monday meeting. The motion passed 12-2, Patrick said, with the Iowa and Nebraska voting to play on.

Patrick said that the PAC-12 Conference will also cancel its football season, but it does not want to be the first to scrap its fall plans. The ACC and the Big 12 are undecided, he added. The SEC is trying to buy more time and convince the ACC and Big 12 to join it in playing a season, Patrick said.

The Big Ten has not yet announced its decision. The Detroit Free Press said a public announcement could come Tuesday.

Though Big Ten players were not told about the postponement, many teams shifted their practices and media availabilities away from Monday, the Free Press reported. The Lansing State Journal says a formal vote will come Monday at 6 p.m., after which schools will collectively proceed.

The Big Ten originally planned a 10-game season with out-of-conference games prohibited. The Terps were slated to open at Iowa on Sept. 5. Maryland's first home game was scheduled for Sept. 12 against Michigan State.

The Football Bowl Subdivision, which is college football's top tier, saw its first cancellation on Saturday when the Mid-American Conference dropped its fall games. Multiple conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision, the sport's second-highest level, canceled their seasons in July.

The FBS and FCS will both allow conferences to play, if they so choose, but the Towson Tigers will sit the fall out. Their conference, the FCS's Colonial Athletic Association, nixed its season last month.

The Terps started their training camp on Friday with hopes to squeeze in a season. As cancellations became more common, however, student-athletes started to push back. Some players, including Maryland running back Jake Funk, used #WeWantToPlay to show their continued desire to get back on the field.

RELATED:

• Big Ten Cancels Football Season, No Ohio State Football: Reports
• Mid-American Conference Cancels Fall 2020 Football Season

Patch Editor Chris Mosby contributed reporting to this article.

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