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Big Ten suspends football contact drills, keeping ‘all options on table’

(This story was updated at 5:10 p.m.)

The Big Ten is putting a hold on contact drills in football practice, perhaps another step toward the potential cancellation of the upcoming season due to the coronavirus.

The conference issued a statement this morning saying teams must remain in the “acclimation period” of practice until further notice, which means helmets only for football practice.

Penn State began its fall camp on Friday.

In a meeting of Big Ten presidents Saturday that had been scheduled, sources told ESPN that “all options are on the table,” and that includes the season either being canceled or moved to the spring.

The Detroit Free Press, citing sources, said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren prefers a spring season.

A number of players, including Penn State standout linebacker Micah Parsons, have already opted out of the season because of virus concerns.

The Mid-American Conference announced Saturday that its football season has been canceled.

Below is the Big Ten statement issued Saturday:

https://bigten.org/news/2020/8/8/general-big-ten-statement.aspx

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