College Football's Power Five Conferences say goodbye to out of conference rivalries for 2020.
SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, and ACC Adjust Schedules for 2020
All five of College Football’s Power Five Conferences have revealed a new schedule for the upcoming 2020 College Football Season with the Big 12 being the latest conference to follow in the footsteps of the ACC, SEC, Big 10 and Pac-12.
The Big 12’s announcement came after University Presidents and Athletic Directors approved the new model on Monday which will now feature nine conference games and one non-conference game.
The Big 12 joins the ACC as the only two conferences to include one non-conference game in their schedule. Travel and health concerns over the coronavirus led the SEC, Pac-12, and Big Ten to only schedule games against opponents within their conference. That means some of the biggest non-conference rivalries like the SEC’s Florida vs. the ACC’s Florida State will not be played this year. Instead of the typical late August start date, most college football games will start in mid-to-late September.
Business and Coronavirus Update
There are over 18.3 million cases of the virus worldwide, with over 695,000 deaths. The U.S. has 4.7 million cases with over 155,000 deaths. According to the COVID-19 Tracking Project, there were 49,561 new cases reported Monday. 731,690 new tests were reported. And 519 deaths were reported yesterday.
The New York City Health Commissioner resigned Tuesday. Dr. Oxiris Barbot, according to the New York Times, expressed her disappointment with Mayor Bill De Blasio’s handling of the coronavirus.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal, began layoffs as the company carries out restructuring which will help to emphasize its streaming operations. The Wall Street Journal reported that the layoffs will impact less than 10% of the company’s 35,000 employees.
And finally, there’s still a lot of back and forth on Capitol Hill. U.S. lawmakers are reviving talks on the next round of stimulus aimed at cushioning the impact of COVID-19 on the domestic economy, which has put more than 30 million Americans out of work and closed businesses, factories, and restaurants. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked by CNN if a deal can get done this week and she said, “"At some point, you just have to freeze the design."