President Trump Working To Save Fall Big Ten Football, Talks With Commissioner

President Donald Trump is trying to save Big Ten football in 2020 just weeks after the conference postponed all fall sports, tweeting that he's 'on the one-yard line' of preserving the season.

Trump spoke Tuesday with Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, hoping to immediately get teams back on the field. The call lasted between 15 and 20 minutes, OutKick reports, focusing on the steps it would need for Big Ten athletics to return during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think it was very productive, about getting Big Ten playing again immediately, and let’s see what happens,” Trump told reporters. “We’re pushing very hard. I think the biggest headwind we have is that you have Democrats that don’t want to see it happen. But I think they want to play, and the fans want to see it, and the players have a lot at stake, including possibly playing in the NFL. You have a lot of great players in that conference. So we had a very good conversation, very productive, and maybe we’ll be very nicely surprised.”

The White House reportedly reached out to the Big Ten to schedule the call. The Trump administration recently announced the purchase and production of 150 million rapid coronavirus tests, some of which could be distributed to the conference, Lettermen Row reports.

During a year in which the line between sports and politics has arguably never been more blurred, Trump has been very outspoken in his hope for college football to continue uninterrupted. Two of college football’s Power Five conferences have postponed the fall season, and two of the other five FBS conferences won’t play football this calendar year.

The decision to play football appears to be split along partisan lines. Conferences made up of teams in largely Republican states are moving forward with the season. Conferences based largely in Democratic states, such as the Pac-12, have canceled fall sports.

Only four of the Big Ten’s 14 teams are located in firmly red states.

Neither Trump nor Warren has the power to bring back fall sports. That decision is left up to the Big Ten presidents and chancellors, who voted 11-3 to postpone the fall football season.

The Big Ten’s announcement on Aug. 11 that it wouldn’t play sports this year has not exactly been accepted quietly. Coaches from the conference’s top schools have said they believe teams can play safely, while players have signed a petition hoping to get back on the field. Parents of some Big Ten athletes are pushing for fall sports to be played, demanding answers from school decision-makers.

It seems every day there is a new rumor about an attempt to get football started sooner rather than later. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that the conference was examining the possibility of starting the football season on Thanksgiving. An eight or nine-game schedule starting in January has been under discussion, according to reports.

The Big Ten has said it will try to play its fall sports in the spring. There is a ton of skepticism that a spring 2021 football season would actually take place.