The Big Ten is under increasing pressure from many of its own student-athletes and their parents to reconsider the cancellation of the 2020 fall season, but one athletic director does not see it happening.
Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said she does not anticipate the Big Ten reversing course in spite of significant public pressure in recent days.
Asked if Big Ten presidents might change their minds, PSU AD Sandy Barbour said "I don't see that changing, but I also appreciate the passion of our parents and student-athletes …"
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) August 17, 2020
This comes in the face of a lot of very visible dissent from Big Ten families. Ohio State football parents put public pressure on Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren over the weekend. Things ramped up even further on Sunday when Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields launched an online petition calling for the reinstatement of the season. As of Monday afternoon, that petition had accumulated over 245,000 signatures.
Other conferences continue to hold firm on having a season for now, even in the face of the Big Ten and Pac-12 both canceling theirs. At this point, there appears to be greater pressure on the Big Ten to reconsider than there is on the other conferences to cancel.
