Omaha World-Herald: All 14 B1G ADs supported playing fall football
Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald reports that all 14 B1G athletic directors were in favor of playing football this fall, but that they were not allowed to participate in the Zoom calls between Warren and the school presidents & chancellors that decided the final outcome. "Athletic directors weren’t in the same Zoom meetings as medical personnel, either. Seasoned athletic veterans like Moos, Wisconsin’s Barry Alvarez, Penn State’s Sandy Barbour and Ohio State’s Gene Smith were left out of key discussions that shaped the league’s decisions." In addition:
Warren was aware, for example, that every Big Ten athletic director was in favor of playing a fall football season. Moos said he, Ohio State’s, Penn State’s and Michigan’s A.D.s pushed hardest, but there was unanimous agreement, Moos said, in wanting to play.
“He knew where we were coming from, and he was the [designated] messenger [of the athletic directors] to the presidents and chancellors,” Moos said.
As easy as consistent Zoom meetings between all parties would have been — all it takes is a computer and a room without chaos — they didn’t happen...Why wouldn’t Warren have done such a basic thing in the first place? Moos didn’t speculate.
This, says McKewon, has been a source of frustration for the ADs, who say Warren is "still learning" on the job.\
[ED/Seth: Fixed headline which was taking half of the sidebar]
August 24th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
They were on other calls. They voiced their desire to play, and Warren undoubtedly represented that desire to the larger group. But letting Barry Alvarez harumph on a call with a bunch of presidents and medical professionals because he doesn't get his way isn't going to demonstrably change the decisions made and would likely just feel like a waste of time. Trust me, if they had been on those calls we'd hear stories leaked from ADs about how nobody listened to them on these calls and they might as well not even been on them. They're angry they didn't get their way, not that they weren't heard.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
Also, any Zoom meeting with more than 10 people is already a mess. Ultimately the AD's report to the Presidents. Each President assumedly knew their AD's preference, took that info and weighed it against the medical information, and then voiced their decision.
If the Presidents "went against" their AD then that's because they felt they were doing right by their university as a whole, and not thinking solely about athletics. It's similar to any other job where the manager's duty is not to appease individual employees but make the best decision they can for the whole.
That said, many other sports are operating fairly well and other conferences are moving forward, so time will tell whether these presidents had intelligent foresight or if their passivity will mean lots of downstream costs (e.g. canceling other non-revenue sports altogether).
August 24th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
Yes, I don't know what Schlissel would gain from hearing the Iowa AD's point of view over hearing from Iowa's president.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
"Also, any meeting with more than 10 people is already a mess. ..."
FIFY...
August 24th, 2020 at 10:14 AM ^
Title says it all?
(Edit: title used to say it all)
August 24th, 2020 at 10:15 AM ^
Gym owners want gyms open. Barbers want barber shops open. Dentists want dentists’ offices open. ADs want to play sports. This is 0% surprising.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:35 AM ^
And the students party on...heaven help us all.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
But...but...the OSU fans said Whitmer was the one who shut everything down. Watching the OSU fans meltdown has been very entertaining.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
None of this is surprising, but it's also crazy that these ADs believe that adding dozens of additional voices to Zoom calls would lead to a better result. The whole reason you have representatives in these meetings is so that you don't have 14 people repeating the same claims and getting pissed off when they don't immediately get adopted.
Yes, the ADs wanted to play. They have limited exposure to any downside and, by their nature, want their departments to not lose as much money. I'm fairly certain Warren properly conveyed those desires in the meeting and the presidents of the universities just decided otherwise.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:46 AM ^
This 1000 times. It sounds like very few people on this thread have ever actually participated in a zoom call where significant decisions were made.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
Kevin Warren is a DISASTER for the BIG Hes NOT a Dictator and his handling of the Job thus far has been Dismal
August 24th, 2020 at 10:30 AM ^
I can't tell if you want him to be a dictator or if you're complaining that he *is* a dictator? I also can't figure out which would be the more idiotic stance to take.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
You can always tell a great point is going to be made when there is random capitalization all over the place. Well done.
And also boy do I not care what the ADs wanted to do.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:34 AM ^
Kevin Warren is a mouthpiece and nothing more. If he'd announced a decision that was not in line with the B1G universities' vote/approval, the universities themselves would have spoken up immediately.
Did they? Nope. Just some self-interested coaches and ADs without any real say in the matter.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you have no idea of another single thing that Warren has has done in his job thus far.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
Of course they wanted to play! They have a vested interest in it when the top AD's are projected to lose $100m or more if there's no season! I can't blame them there, it's a shitty situation. I can see arguments on both sides, yet at the end of the day, as much as I don't want it to be the case, cancelling/delaying the season seems to likely be the best decision at this point.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
Why are we still talking about this? Has the dead horse not been beaten enough?
August 24th, 2020 at 10:57 AM ^
You're not wrong, but insofar as this space if a CFB fan forum, this is an existential topic that is about as relevant and onpoint as it gets.
Is it a dead horse? Yes, but in this case it's Buchephalus' flogged corpse and we're a bunch of Alexanders the Great.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:31 AM ^
So. What.
The ADs voice their concerns to their superiors, the presidents/chancellors, who then take it up with the conference.
You don't need to have everyone involved in the final meeting. That is not how to run a large organization - the Big Ten is not a democracy.
The details can be made public as muchbas legally required, but that is an afterthought.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
Nice thread title.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
Oh i can't wait to see where this thread goes.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
This is not newsworthy. (1) Of course that's true. And (2) what the A.D.'s want matters only negligibly. They aren't the decision-makers here. Also, athletic directors' list of interests that conflict with public safety are ... countably many.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
And this is why athletic directors do not run universities, because there are considerations above their pay grade that go into making a decision such as this one.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
So dropping 40K students into a limited space like a campus setting to live and mingle together given the current circumstances is such a smart decision due to the high pay grade of the presidents and chancellors? Oh that's right, let's get them on campus to collect the checks and we will send them home later because we know 18-22 year old kids are not going to listen to us.
The money trail is everywhere, I'd say a semi-quarantined football team with rigorous testing and limited exposure to other students has a much higher chance of coming through unscathed than the students that will inevitably spread it like wildfire. But hey, what do I know?
August 24th, 2020 at 12:33 PM ^
You do realize that your argument is essentially "We're doing this 1 stupid thing so we should totally compound that by doing this other stupid thing", right?
August 24th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
Particularly when one of those things is the primary function of a university and it isn't to field a football team.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
I'm not a "we need a season now" member, I'm more interested in what drives the decisions. I want to know the science behind medical advice that says 40K students gathering at parties (it's inevitable and unavoidable) in crowds basically guaranteeing community spread is ok. I'd also like to know the science that says mostly quarantined athletes competing while being closely watched and tested is not ok when there are sports successfully doing it.
I'm more interested in uniformity. Why some things say this is ok, while being obviously more dangerous than the thing they say is not ok. Why high school football programs across the nation, all with kids that are going home and contacting many people, are ok to play with less money and testing programs.
I'm more interested in knowing why we are all over the map on everything right now. I have scratched a bald spot in my head.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
If you need to "learn on the job" how to include all important parties in a meeting, you need a new job.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^
I've been saying all along... nothing but hypocrisy and cuckold behavior at the highest levels. The comissioner doesn't hold a vote, while his son plays at Mississippi State. Less than .001% death rate for said age group and more than 77 false positives for NFL testing over the weekend. Nothing but straight up BS and all politics at this point. Everyone should be livid... especially these college town businesses that are going to lose their asses after this is all said and done. But the sad part about this board is that it has gotten so doom and gloom , just to scare people into group think hahhaa. Nothing but whiny liberals....Michigan fans are the worst and I should know. I gave up my season tickets after 6 years .. just had enough(had them in hoke years and harbaugh). Michigan fans are the worst, stay seated during the whole game and whine when you stand in front of them (2 1000" big screens in stadium I might add). Section 17 Row 53... if you sit in that section sorry you're just part of the problem.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:36 AM ^
Cuckold behavior?
"Nothing but whiny liberals"
"groupthink hahaa"
Can I get a breakdown of your logic here? I'll probably regret it...
August 24th, 2020 at 12:04 PM ^
His point could have been stated more eloquently, but overall it's not wrong. The collective MGO group-think that Warren and the presidents made the "correct" decision is... odd. It was premature and very, very costly to the players, coaches, families, communities, and to the B1G's reputation in general. At the very least, the B1G could have pressed on as the other other conferences are, and made the decision to call the season off if it became apparent player/coach safety was untenable.
That the very same presidents are bringing students back to campus makes the decision to cancel fall sports all that much more egregious.
But only on MGO will the collective community swallow the shit sandwich, smile about it, and defend the 14 people who made that decision without adequate input from stakeholders.. we all must look tiny from your high horses standing atop your moral high ground.
Also.. your coach, your players, your player's families, and your AD all wanted a chance to play.. but 85% of this blog defends the decision to cancel. From an outsider's perspective, it's very confusing.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:19 PM ^
It is interesting, I'd always thought that, for all the bashing, Michigan and OSU fanbases were prob more similar than different.
But I guess that, at least the highly motivated and mildly insane (us, checking sports blog sites) are in fact different, given the real difference in reaction to the B10 CFB cancellation.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:30 PM ^
Meanwhile over at 11 Warriors, 85% of people are threatening to fight Kevin Warren and are convinced that Whitmer and the Presidents did this to help defeat Trump. Seriously, it's scary over there. Lots of QAnon flying around, and anyone who tries to speak reason gets negged to infinity.
So one fan base is 85% on the side of caution based on the advice of the majority of medical experts. We don't want players to die or have long term harm done so that we can watch football. The other fan base wants to play at all costs because their team is totally stacked, and their response to getting denied is to go full conspiracy theory based on tweets by people like Sir Yacht and someone named Snook(?).
You may be confused, but I'm extremely grateful to be a Michigan fan rather than OSU. These past few months have only confirmed that x1000.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:48 PM ^
I'm confused because Harbaugh, the players, and your AD have all come out, somewhat forcefully, saying they want the opportunity to play, yet MGO as a whole is pretty supportive of the president's decision to cancel.
The greater UM alumni base I would understand more for the support, but on a sports blog... I would think their would have been more support for fall sports, specifically the football program. But it seems like anyone "pro fall-sports" gets pretty beat up around here. Just for clarity... I'm not against cancelling fall sports.. just adamantly against how and when that decision was reached... it seems very premature.
To each his own, I guess.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:13 PM ^
I think you're looking at this through OSU colored glasses. Of course the coaches, players, and ADs want to play. We all want them to play. Everyone wants football to be played!
However, we're not going to ignore all science and reason just because Harbaugh and the players say we should. When it comes to a medical decision regarding the safety of players, coaches, trainers, fans, etc we're going to listen to experts in the field. That's why 85% of posters on this blog support the decision made by 14 university presidents. We've studied most of the available data, and we agree with the call they made, even though it is extremely disappointing to not have football.
By and large OSU fans are not that way. They exhibit a blind loyalty to their program and individual players and coaches, even when those individuals turn out to be liars, cheaters, etc. The examples are numerous: Clarrett, Tressel, Pryor, Meyer, Zach Smith, etc.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:22 PM ^
Maybe because we can think for ourselves and do not blindly follow? Jim Harbaugh and the players obviously want to play because it affects their livelihood. That makes total sense. For many of us, this is just something to do on Saturday and type on a message board throughout the week (aka not devastating). We understand that in the end, these are Universities that have many more things to take into consideration other than football. This decision was bigger than football. Just because a bunch of schools in the south care more about football than education and safety doesn't make it right.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:28 PM ^
You usually say reasonable stuff although sometimes I still downvote you for obvious reasons. But this is a bad take.
Just because we care about sports doesn’t mean we ignore how decisions get made. People get “pretty beat up” because they ignore medical science or refuse to accept that the people who made the decisions knew how they felt but went in the other direction based on advice they received from experts. Not because they want football.
The point is player parent and AD input wasn’t (and imo shouldn’t have been) a factor. So what does it matter what they thought?
August 24th, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
I'm not ignoring how decisions get made... just questioning the decision of one conference (the B1G) deciding to cancel.. mostly without explanation, until a week had passed and regional and national media had positively skewered the conference and Warren as commish. Let me be clear here... I am NOT against cancelling the fall season if the medical advice and data support it. What I question is why the decision was made when it was.. essentially cancellation before even trying.. and why there are three other major conferences that also have medical professionals, continuing on with the season for now. It's all a matter of opinion, but it seems anyone on this board that posts any sort of "play the fall season" gets lambasted.. that's the part I don't understand.
I will humbly accept the negs as they come.. I have an OSU helmet as an avatar, I kind of expect it. It's the "you're wrong, I'm right" sentiment that concerns me.. we seem to have lost the nuance of conversation at some point.. and this decision is highly, highly controversial.. and absolutely conversation worthy.
To your last point... I'm not supporting any person, in any position, that can make such a broad and consequential decision without any transparency, or disclosure as to the reasoning why that decision was made. These are public institutions.. they are funded by taxpayers (minus NW). If the CEO if my company made a highly contentious decision that cost us hundreds of millions, you can bet your ass he'd be doing everything he could to mitigate damages and appease stakeholders. Instead.. we have a the presidents, and commish, all no-shows. It's not acceptable.
August 24th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
You still haven't responded to my comment regarding 11 Warriors. Are you over there making the same statements about freedom to debate/disagree?
On that site, anyone who even hints that the B1G made the right decision also "gets lambasted". Maybe you should spend more time on buckeye sites trying to convince the masses to be more accepting of opposing points of view?
August 24th, 2020 at 1:32 PM ^
Appreciate your very measured, and well reasoned post (no, I'm not being sarcastic). I will share my thoughts. First off, the participants strong desire to play is immaterial to the question at hand, which is "Does this activity represent a risk that we are not willing to take?" I think the thing everyone seems to miss in the discussion is that the risk is not limited to the participants. Without a bubble, playing a sport doesn't just increase the risk to players, it increases the risk to EVERYONE. Secondly, I think that this was an extremely difficult decision with no obvious, clear-cut, "right answer" to be made. Honestly, I was not going to get too worked up one way or another over the decision. However, what does work me up is all the people calling for Warren's head and acting like he just said "Hit me" while sitting on 19 at the blackjack table.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:54 PM ^
"Without a bubble, playing a sport doesn't just increase the risk to players, it increases the risk to EVERYONE."
But that is actually the question. With students on campus and the various other things that are currently going on does it really? I'm leaning towards no, that the actions of around 150 people are minuscule when compared to the actions of thousands.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:41 PM ^
"...made that decision without adequate input from stakeholders.. ..."
That's a big leap right there - that the presidents of some of the most prestigious universities in the country (world?) glibly made a decision without adequate input. So you're telling me that Schlissel didn't speak with his AD about this, at all? That he didn't go into those meetings with his peers prepared with a knowledge of what his subordinates desires/positions are? That he wasn't prepared to make a decision effecting the University of Michigan because he wasn't going to hear from Rutgers' AD?
The president's were talking to their peers about a conference wide decision - they were not there to speak with subordinates. But you didn't get your way, so the decision is ill-informed and shitty.
FWIW, I'd rather they play, also, and believe they made a poor decision to cancel so early. I think they thought everyone would follow, and that didn't happen. Also...
"We all must look tiny from your high horses..."
Yes, OSU fans do look very tiny and transparent. Always have, always will... (I mean, you asked!!)
August 24th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
Yes, OSU fans do look very tiny and transparent. Always have, always will... (I mean, you asked!!
Must be why OSU's receivers seem to run right through your secondary?? Seriously, appreciate the banter :)
Didn't a UM player come out and state he had never once seen Schlissel in the athletic complex? I know it's just football, but the team is far and away UM's largest marketing tool.. as are most other high profile football teams for their respective universities... he can't meet with them once before pulling the plug? Harbaugh and Manuel, both publicly advocating for a fall season.. despite the open knowledge that Schlissel was against fall sports? I guess we can agree to disagree... but it seems like we're on the same page about one thing.. the decision to cancel and when it was made are.. questionable at best.
August 24th, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
"Must be why OSU's receivers seem to run right through your secondary??"
Too soon...
Who cares if the president doesn't show up in the football building? Schlissel has stated many times that he doesn't care about athletics. In fact, during his interviews with the BoR, he had to explain that, while he doesn't care about it, he wouldn't actively interfere, either. Has anyone in the LSA program seen him in their classrooms? Or the aeronautical engineering school? Probably not... I suspect he's toured the medical campus, though.
BTW, I do believe that he should have spoken with them - at least with team representatives - before pulling the plug. He didn't have to, though, and he chose that route. In a sorta similar way, I always tell my kid "you don't have to like it, you just have to do it".
August 24th, 2020 at 2:25 PM ^
"Or the aeronautical engineering school?"
Aerospace.
... and we definitely haven't had a visit.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:49 AM ^
I agree with most of what you are saying until the ragging on Michigan fans inside the stadium at homes games. The enthusiasm is much better since Harbaugh came to town. The fans were making a lot more noise, especially when the visiting team has a 4th down play upcoming. I was yelling my lungs out and standing up as well as were others around me.
August 24th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
That God you rarely post.