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Has COVID-19 impacted college football finances? Our 5 biggest findings from our coaches compensation database
SportsPulse: COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on much of the U.S. economy. How has it impacted college football coaches? According to our annual coaches compensation database, head coaches at Power Five conferences haven’t taken a big hit.
With its previously scheduled game canceled due to positive coronavirus tests among the opposing team, Nebraska pivoted for a new Week 2 opponent in this college football season already marred by postponements.
They found a willing partner in the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The matchup against the Mocs, a member of the FCS Southern Conference, required permission from the Big Ten, which has instituted strict coronavirus testing and containment protocols.
But on Thursday, the conference denied the Huskers’ request to face the Mocs, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken. The person spoke under anonymity because they were not able to speak publicly on the matter.
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One reason behind the Big Ten not giving the green light is that it does not want a team outside of the conference’s testing protocol to play a non-Big Ten team, although ESPN reported all of the Mocs’ tests from Wednesday returned negative.
Chattanooga played its lone scheduled game for the fall on Saturday, losing to Western Kentucky 13-10.
Nebraska was supposed to play Big Ten West rival Wisconsin on Saturday. But 12 members of the program, including head coach Paul Chryst and quarterback Graham Mertz, tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
Part of the Big Ten’s reversal on postponing the football season to spring and starting last weekend was the emergence of daily antigen testing for every program. Players who test positive must wait 21 days before returning to competition.
