Big Ten leaders are reportedly working on creating an all-conference schedule of football games that could begin in January 2021, with games being contested at indoor neutral site stadiums throughout the Midwest.
Numerous sources told the Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Potrykus that the plan would be for games to happen as quickly as they could next year, with the season ending before the 2021 NFL Draft in late April and early May.
A decision on the move could come as early as next week, according to the Journal Sentinel.
The Big Ten decided last week to suspend its 2020 football season due to coronavirus concerns.
Four domed football stadiums are within or bordering Big Ten states, including the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Ford Field in Detroit, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The latter three could possibly be in use for NFL playoff games during the month of January. The domes would be used to insure against inclement winter weather.
A maximum of seven games could be played each week, so four stadiums could be enough if all of them are available. There was no word on how many weeks of games would be played, but Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez says the season would not last a full 12 weeks.
