Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is reportedly railroading attempts by Ohio State to organize a mini-Big Ten fall football season.
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith has been trying to scrape together a last-minute agreement between six Big Ten teams to hold a 10-game fall football season, according to reporter Jeff Snook. Iowa, Nebraska, and Penn State have signed on to the plan, but Smith needs Michigan and Wisconsin as well to make it work.“This group needed ‘to flip’ the presidents at Michigan and Wisconsin to agree to play, or the new format wouldn’t be feasible,” Snook said in a Thursday Facebook post, quoting a source. “If either of those school’s presidents or both, refused to budge and made that clear to their athletic directors within the last ‘24 to 48 hours,’ then Smith’s efforts concerning the new plan went nowhere and died.”
“I also was also told that one roadblock to the new plan is the fact that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been vehemently opposed to football being played – at the high school and college level – in the state this fall,” Snook said. “Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gave his blessing to all sports being played this fall on Tuesday.”Whitmer said on May 15 that “we can have sports,” but “the way we observe them might look different for a while.” So far, though, she has been reluctant to take the state out of lockdown and has consistently threatened to undo some retractions in the strict regulations she began instituting in March. In some cases, Whitmer has reinstituted her mandates or taken them a step farther.The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) canceled fall football throughout the state on Aug. 14. College sports programs at all levels of play have called off fall sports across the state.
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith has been trying to scrape together a last-minute agreement between six Big Ten teams to hold a 10-game fall football season, according to reporter Jeff Snook. Iowa, Nebraska, and Penn State have signed on to the plan, but Smith needs Michigan and Wisconsin as well to make it work.“This group needed ‘to flip’ the presidents at Michigan and Wisconsin to agree to play, or the new format wouldn’t be feasible,” Snook said in a Thursday Facebook post, quoting a source. “If either of those school’s presidents or both, refused to budge and made that clear to their athletic directors within the last ‘24 to 48 hours,’ then Smith’s efforts concerning the new plan went nowhere and died.”
“I also was also told that one roadblock to the new plan is the fact that Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been vehemently opposed to football being played – at the high school and college level – in the state this fall,” Snook said. “Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gave his blessing to all sports being played this fall on Tuesday.”Whitmer said on May 15 that “we can have sports,” but “the way we observe them might look different for a while.” So far, though, she has been reluctant to take the state out of lockdown and has consistently threatened to undo some retractions in the strict regulations she began instituting in March. In some cases, Whitmer has reinstituted her mandates or taken them a step farther.The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) canceled fall football throughout the state on Aug. 14. College sports programs at all levels of play have called off fall sports across the state.
!/
