Warde Manuel called the Big Ten’s planned postponement of fall sports earlier this week “unfortunate but necessary,” an apparent nod to the league’s landmark decision to cancel the 2020 football season.
And in a recent interview, the Michigan athletic director said the Big Ten felt it “couldn’t move forward” given the unknowns presented by the COVID-19 virus.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty with those answers and where they’re going to go,” Manuel said. “We have student-athletes. They’re not professional athletes, and we have to remember that as we go through all of this. These are young people who rely on us to make decisions that are in the best interest of their health safety.”
The postponement also impacts cross country, field hockey, soccer and volleyball, but football is what garnered all the attention earlier this week when the Big Ten and PAC-12 joined the Mid-American and Mountain West conferences in pulling the plug on fall sports.
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The Big Ten’s decision drew sharp criticism from some coaches and their players, including Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, who had advocated for playing a season this fall.
“We have to deal with the fact that we’re not going to play this fall,” Manuel said. “I know, (and) I understand the people who believe we should. But there’s so much uncertainty, so many questions about this virus and its impact on the health of the people of this world.”
As of Friday morning, the the United States has reported more than 5.2 million infections and more than 167,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. To date, nearly half of the Big Ten’s football programs experienced a shut down of voluntary workouts due to an outbreak.
Still, the league decided to roll out a schedule and safety guidelines last week, Aug. 5, and allow its football teams to begin preseason camp on Aug. 7. Four days later, the decision was made by school presidents and chancellors to pull the plug.
“If we play a game, how we can do it as safe as possible? That really is the first decision point that we’re going to make,” Manuel said. “There’s a lot of creativity. There’s a lot of things being done. But ultimately, nobody can tell you exactly how (or) when somebody’s going to contract this virus. And nobody can tell you the short-term or long-term effects of getting the virus.”
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Manuel commended the coaches, players and athletic department staff members for embracing this unique time. He’s instituted pay cuts across the department to help combat a sharp revenue decline, with the hope that games can continue in 2021.
But Manuel asked for some perspective. Athletic competition will one day return. Stadiums will be packed again. Just not right now.
“Sports is important to our society; it’s important to me,” Manuel said. “But not more important than their education, and not more important — definitely not more important — than their health and safety.
“I’m going to miss seeing all of our fans having those games, an doing all of the things that we do. But we will get through it together and be stronger in the end because of the fight and challenges, the things we learn about ourselves and the way we come together.”
You can watch the entire eight-minute interview with Manuel below:
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