CBSSPORTS reported Wednesday that the Ivy League has canceled all fall sports and will reevaluate whether to play sports after Jan. 1, 2021, conference sources tell CBS Sports' Matt Norlander. An official announcement from the league is expected Wednesday evening.
The significant move comes as more questions and concerns arise about the feasibility of playing the 2020 college football season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Time is running out for the season to start on time, which is leading many to wonder whether it will ultimately be moved a few months to the spring of 2021.
As to whether the Ivy League would consider playing football this spring -- a notion considered a last resort as the sport weighs contingency plans -- no decision has made at this time.
"Football hasn't been decided yet if it would be moved to the spring, but logistically, I don't know how that would work," an Ivy League source tells CBS Sports. "... You can't move all the sports to the spring; the logistics don't work. The soccer field is the lacrosse field. The scheduling would be a nightmare."
There are also financial considerations to take into account for the Ivy League. The conference loses more money on football than any other sport. Basketball, the real money-maker for the Ivy League, is its only profitable venture. It is unlikely to start on time considering the league's Jan. 1, 2021, mandate.
The Ivy League becomes the first Division I conference to make such a sweeping change. There have been cancellations in college football's lower ranks, including Division II program Morehouse College and at least three Division III schools, but nothing quite like this.