The Big Ten will not reschedule games that cannot be played due to COVID-19 this season.
The conference announced Monday that if a team is unable to play a football game as scheduled this fall due to COVID-19, that game will be considered a forfeit and will not be rescheduled. The team that is unable to play will be assessed a loss in the conference standings, while the other team will be awarded a win.
If both teams are unable to play in a game due to COVID-19 outbreaks, the game will be considered a no contest.
The Big Ten follows the lead of many other conferences which had already announced similar forfeiture policies for the 2021-22 season, including the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.
Asked about the new policy after practice on Monday, Day said he hadn't seen it yet but was hopeful that Ohio State would not be in a situation where it would have to forfeit a game.
“I don’t know what to think of all that, to be honest with you,” Day said. “Hope it doesn’t happen.”
Day said Monday that while more and more Ohio State players have been getting vaccinated in recent weeks, there were still around 10 or just under 10 players who had not yet been vaccinated as of Monday.
Players who remain unvaccinated are required to test twice a week through the university, but players who are vaccinated are no longer subject to regular testing, Day said. The Big Ten is allowing schools to set their own COVID-19 testing policies this year.
According to an Ohio State spokesperson, any individual who tests positive for COVID-19 – regardless of vaccination status – will still need to isolate for at least 10 days before returning to the team. The Big Ten is no longer requiring an additional acclimation period after the 10-day quarantine like it did last year.
