Delay Would Not Have Changed Big Ten's Decision, Penn State Athletic Director Says

Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour added that she was "unclear" whether Big Ten presidents held a vote on their decision to postpone fall sports.

Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour said Monday that she is "unclear" whether Big Ten presidents and chancellors held a vote to postpone the fall sports season, adding, however, that a delay would have been unlikely to change the decision.

On a video call with reporters, Barbour was asked how Penn State President Eric Barron had voted regarding the conference's Aug. 12 decision. Barbour responded, "it's unclear to me whether there was ever a vote or not."

Asked twice later about that, Barbour repeated the statement that she personally was not aware of a vote among presidents.

"I will make myself much clearer on the statement," Barbour said. "It is unclear to me whether or not there was a vote. Nobody has ever told me there was, so I just don't know whether there actually was a vote by the chancellors and presidents."

The Big Ten has drawn questions from representatives across the conference about how it decided to postpone the fall sports season six days after announcing its football schedule. Several parents groups, including one from Penn State, have sent letters to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren asking for a broader explanation and more transparency about the decision.

"We want to know what changed in six days and why was this decision rushed before the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA could answer some of the most basic questions regarding the futures of these student-athletes," the Penn State parents' letter said.

Barbour said that nothing specific changed during that period,  though presidents and chancellors continued to be concerned about what Barbour called a tightening supply chain of some testing equipment and the long-term impacts of myocarditis, an inflammatory condition of the heart that can be caused by COVID-19.

Barbour said that no Penn State athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 (eight as of Aug. 12) have been diagnosed with myocarditis.

"The nature of that uncertainty was not something that was going to change in two or three weeks or a month," Barbour said. "Otherwise, I think they would have held out. They felt it was important to make the decision and to start working on what is the next viable opportunity."

Barbour said that Penn State, from Barron to the Board of Trustees to its coaching staff, all "fought" for a fall sports season. The athletic director said that Penn State had done so for five months since its campus was closed in March.

"Let me be clear: Dr. Barron wants to play," Barbour said. "He knows how important it is to our student-athletes, he knows how important it is to this department and of course how important it is to our community and our alumni. I want to play, our board wants to play and you're fully aware that our coaches and student-athletes and their families want to play. But it's never been to play at all costs or under any circumstances."

A Penn State spokesperson said that Barron "feels the Big Ten Conference made a decision based on the health and safety of student-athletes. He supports it, as nothing is more important to Penn State."

Barbour added that Barron explored "every option that would have been acceptable from a health and safety standpoint."

"So to say that Dr. Barron fought for the ability for our student-athletes to play this fall, I think that would be a correct assumption," Barbour said.

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