ESPN reported that Big Ten football programs “will remain in the ‘acclimatization period’ of practices, allowed to use helmets as their only piece of protective equipment until further notice, the league announced Saturday.” According to ESPN, Big Ten football programs “opened preseason camps Thursday and Friday. NCAA rules state that teams must conduct their first two days of practices without pads before moving forward, but Big Ten programs will stay in the initial phase.”
This move comes amid the announcement by the Mid-American Conference (MAC) that it is postponing the entire fall sports season.
“Each new phase of activity provides new intelligence and experience and allows us to evaluate the implementation of our Conference and institutional medical protocols in real-time,” the Big Ten said in a statement. “In order to make the right health and safety decisions for our student-athletes, we believe it is best to continue in the appropriate phase of activity … while we digest and share information from each campus to ensure we are moving forward cautiously.”
