Big Ten Releases 2020 Football Schedule For Minnesota Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Big Ten Saturday released its abridged fall football season that will begin next month. The Minnesota Gophers will start the season playing the Michigan Wolverines Oct. 24. They will play

Gophers 2020 schedule:

• Oct. 24 at home vs. Michigan
• Oct. 31 at Maryland
• Nov. 7 at Illinois
• Nov. 14 at home vs. Iowa
• Nov. 21 at home vs. Purdue
• Nov. 28 at Wisconsin
• Dec. 5 at home vs. Northwestern
• Dec. 12 at Nebraska

See the schedule for all Big Ten teams here.

The conference will require student-athletes, coaches, trainers and others involved in sports to undergo daily testing for COVID-19.

"Everyone associated with the Big Ten should be very proud of the groundbreaking steps that are now being taken to better protect the health and safety of the student-athletes and surrounding communities," said Dr. Jim Borchers, co-chair of the Return to Competition Task Force medical subcommittee, in a statement earlier this week.

"The data we are going to collect from testing and the cardiac registry will provide major contributions for all 14 Big Ten institutions as they study COVID-19 and attempt to mitigate the spread of the disease among wider communities."

The decision to start the season is a major reversal for the conference. In mid-August, the Big Ten announced it would postpone its 2020-2021 football season, drawing a mix of relief and ire from fans.

Conference officials said they weighed the risks of COVID-19 while debating moving forward with fall sports. Initially, the dangers posed to athletes, coaches, staff and fans were too much to move forward with the season.

However, despite the PAC following the Big Ten's lead and delaying football, other Power 5 conferences decided to push forward with the season. Notre Dame temporarily joined the ACC and games began this month.