Column: Without Sports, Student-Athletes Will Struggle in the Big Ten and Pac-12

By Tyler Komis
IMC Student

During the month of August, the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences decided to cancel their fall sports seasons due to COVID-19. Now, it seems there is a great divide in this country on the “final” decision made by both conferences, who are the only two out of the Power Five to decide to cancel sports entirely. Of course, the people most upset by this decision are football fans. The SEC, ACC, and Big 12 are the three remaining conferences attempting to keep their fall season intact. 

I personally believe that the decision made by the Pac-12 and Big Ten was premature. However, it makes clear the amount of effort the rest of the Power Five conferences are doing to ensure a season.

I also believe that these actions will be crucial during the recruiting process because the student-athletes are going to want to see what schools will do for them in order to even consider them. I’m sure that the other three conferences that are still fighting for a season will be head and shoulders above the Pac-12 and Big Ten during the recruiting process. 

The importance of having a fall season for these student-athletes is crucial for some players, especially seniors. It could be the difference of being drafted to play professionally or finding a new career/job for a lot of college athletes. It could also jeopardize some student-athletes who are looking to raise their potential draft stock. It may also be the difference between millions or thousands of dollars for players who have worked all of their lives for this. 

As it stands right now, the remaining conferences are planning to play their football games exclusively within their own conference in order to prevent too much traveling. I think that the modified seasons will start for those conferences, but I do not have much confidence that the conferences will be able to play the fully scheduled 10-game season this year. However, I do believe that these few games would still be very beneficial for most if not all parties.  

*Editor’s note: This column does not reflect the opinions of HottyToddy.com or the University of Mississippi.