Tom Allen Sees 'A Lot of Challenges' for Making Spring Season Possible
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — On Monday, Tom Allen hadn't let his mind go there yet.
On Tuesday, he had no choice but to think about it.
The Big Ten officially postponed all its fall sports on Tuesday at 3 p.m. eastern just six days after releasing the modified 10-game, conference-only football schedule.
The conference also announced they were planning to attempt those sports in the spring, which is what Allen didn't want to think about on Monday.
"I think it would create a lot of challenges," Allen said on Monday via Zoom. "I would have a lot of concerns about that, but at the same time, I’d have to sit down and think it through more specifically."
Now Allen will have a lot of time to think about it with no clear plan or direction in place for football in the spring.
Tom Allen at Indiana's fall camp during the first week of August.
Indiana University Athletics
A number of people have voiced their opinions about it, including former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, who said there is "no chance" a spring football season could be possible.
But current Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on Wednesday morning that he thinks it's possible if the Big Ten starts around the first week of January and has an eight-week season, which would give enough of a break before the 2021 fall season and allow players time to get ready for the NFL Draft.
January is obviously not an ideal month due to weather, but Penn State coach James Franklin suggested that the Big Ten use the domes in Minneapolis, Detroit and Indianapolis and do "Big Ten weekends" at those venues.
"The biggest thing you always try to think about is just the year-round calendar slash approach you have toward the development of your team, and their bodies and the load that they have and the stress level they have on their bodies in both contact as well as the weight room and the running and the balance and all that," Allen said.
Right now, there is no concrete plan for the Big Ten regarding fall sports in the spring.
The Big Ten was the first of the Power 5 conferences to make a decision on fall sports. Shortly after, the Pac-12 followed suit, postponing its fall sports as well.
The ACC, SEC and Big 12 have all said they are continuing to move forward with fall sports for the time being.
When the news broke about the postponement, Allen put out a statement, saying, "My heart breaks for our players. I couldn’t be prouder of the commitment and focus they have demonstrated from the start of this pandemic. They put in the work to get ready for a season. I love each and every one of them, and we will continue to support them and prepare them for what the future holds."
He went on to say that the future is bright for Indiana football and that they will continue to be "relentless" in their pursuit of their goals.
Indiana was fresh off its best season in 26 years, going 8-4 last year and making a bowl game for the first time in Allen's tenure.
Mix that momentum with a plethora of talent returning and Indiana was expected to have another historic season. Now that season might have to wait for the spring, or it maybe not for another year.
No matter what happens, the always optimistic Allen thinks his players can handle it.
"I just know in my mind as I’ve thought about it a little bit, I just do see a lot of challenges for making that a possibility," Allen said on spring football. "But like anything else, we’re pretty creative individuals and when your back is against the wall, you have a tendency to find a way to figure it out."
"But at the end of the day, it’s gotta always be about what’s best for our players, their development, their safety and what makes sense that way."
Related Stories
- CAN A SPRING FOOTBALL SEASON WORK: Sports Illustrated's Tom Brew doesn't think a spring football season will work. Check out why. CLICK HERE
- STATEMENT FROM INDIANA ATHLETES: The Indiana Student-Athlete Advisory Committee put out a statement on their reaction from the Big Ten's decision. CLICK HERE.
