Despite Call With Trump, Big Ten Football’s Return Remains Unlikely

Much like Schrodinger’s Cat, the past few weeks it seems like Big Ten football both will and won’t be played with the league seeming to flip flop on its intentions regarding the fall season. While it seems that they may have been leading towards playing, reports now indicate that that is unlikely despite a call with the number one the proponent of bringing American sports back – President Donald Trump.

Despite a call between the president and the Big 10 coaches, the main hang-up seems to be the availability of the new rapid testing system that has been developed for COVID and whether or not these schools can acquire adequate amounts. Selwyn Vickers, dean of UAB’s Medical School, said, “I can’t project to know if that will. I don’t know if the testing limits was the thing that was keeping them from playing. The Big Ten has an outstanding group of medical minds at their [disposal] who I’m sure who have given thought to [rapid testing] and likely will come up with a lot of reasons of what they need to think about. I think rapid testing is one of them.”

It is possible that the Trump administration could prioritize organizations like the Big 10 for testing, but currently health workers and areas where cases are spiking take the highest priority. This would probably be a bad look for the president, but he rarely has shied away from that in the past. The decision does not have to be made for a few more weeks while colleges figure out their return plan, and I wouldn’t expect a decision until the very last moment.