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Big 12 commissioner expects COVID-19 to impact two academic, sports years
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Don’t expect the COVID-19 pandemic to have just a one-year impact on the academic and sports years. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby says scientists he’s spoken with are anticipating the virus to affect multiple sports seasons.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Bowlsby talked about how the Big 12 has continued to move forward with a college football season during an unprecedented time. From the sound of it, the commissioner is preparing to combat issues with the virus through at least next week.
“The scientists we’ve talked to have told us to expect for this to extend into two years,” Bowlsby said, according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.
Bob Bowlsby just now: "The scientists we've talked to have told us to expect for this to extend into two years." re virus
— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) September 7, 2020
That likely means continued testing and isolating players as much as possible through the next two seasons. Bowlsby said that will likely be the case, even if a vaccine is developed sometime within the next two years.
Four FBS conferences have already decided to postpone their fall football season in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, the Big 12 is one of the six leagues that is deciding to move forward. The AAC, ACC, C-USA, SEC and Sun Belt are all continuing to play this fall, as well.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB