The Power 5 Conference are intent on playing college football this season and have released their schedule for the upcoming year.
Big 12 Intends to Have College Football This Year
Despite other Power 5 conferences opting out of football this fall, the Big 12 will try to play its schedule. The decision made by the Big 12 Board of Directors means that three of the nation's Power 5 conferences are intent on playing football this year.
The Big Ten and Pac 12 conferences have decided to opt-out of fall football due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big 12 conference is home to college football powerhouses Oklahoma and Texas. Earlier today, the Big 12 released its college football schedule. Conference play will start on Saturday, September 26th
Daily Coronavirus Update
There are over 20.4 million cases of the virus worldwide, with over 744,000 deaths.
According to Johns Hopkins, the U.S. has surpassed 5.1 million cases with over 164,000 deaths.
According to the COVID-19 Tracking Project, there were 55,594 new cases reported Tuesday. 739,083 new tests were reported. And 1,326 deaths were reported yesterday.
Moderna won an award of up to $1.5 billion from the U.S. government for 100 million doses of its (as-yet-unapproved) mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate for COVID-19. The contract includes incentive payments for timely delivery of the vaccine.
The mRNA-1273 vaccine entered Phase 3 trials on July 27. Under the agreement, the government will have an option to acquire 400 million additional doses. The deal follows an early development grant this year for $955 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement that, “we are assembling a broad portfolio of vaccines to increase the odds that we will have at least one safe, effective vaccine as soon as the end of this year."
Kentucky Derby Announces Limited Fans in Stands
The 146th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for September 5th.
Earlier Today Churchill Downs released a statement saying that this year's event will be limited to less than 23,000 fans and limited to guests with reserved seats. Face coverings will be required through the entire venue, and guests will take a medical questionnaire and be screened by a contactless thermometer before entering the facility. The race was originally scheduled for May 5th but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Street's Katherine Ross contributed to this report.