The Big Ten's council of presidents of chancellors will meet on Sunday and could vote as soon as Sunday on the conference's plans for returning to play football this fall.
As first reported Saturday by Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, Big Ten presidents and chancellors are expected to vote on the conference's next steps within the next few days.
Sources: The Big Ten presentation by the Return to Competition Task Force has ended successfully today. The full 14 Big Ten Chancellors and Presidents will meet tomorrow are expected to vote on return to play in next 72 hours. Today is the step before the step.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 12, 2020
Sunday's meeting comes after the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force's medical committee, co-chaired by Ohio State head team physician James Borchers and Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour, presented its plan on Saturday to the task force's steering committee, which consists of eight of the conference's 14 university presidents and chancellors including Ohio State president Kristina Johnson.
Whether a vote will take place at Sunday's meeting or is instead held on Monday or Tuesday remains uncertain, but it's expected the presidents and chancellors will eventually vote this upcoming week on whether to proceed forward with a plan that would involve starting the season in mid-October – as Ohio State coach Ryan Day has advocated for – to give the conference's teams an opportunity to compete for a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Per Thamel, “the most optimistic date being discussed is Oct. 17 with a Big Ten championship game in late December.”
