Ryan Day takes blowtorch to Big Ten in scathing letter demanding the season start

Ryan Day lets the Big Ten have it for a blatant lack of transparency.

Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day is the latest Big Ten coach to rip its Power 5 conference for postponing their season.

Day tweeted out a well-thought-out message about the Big Ten’s straight-up refusal to be transparent about why they can’t play college football this fall, yet other Power 5 conferences like the ACC, the Big 12 and the SEC sure can. His Ohio State Buckeyes could have won a national title this year, but instead will have to watch someone else play the Clemson Tigers in January.

"“While I understand the Big Ten Conference’s decision to postpone the football season because of health and safety considerations, the communication of information from the Big Ten following the decision has been disappointing and often unclear.”“However we still have an opportunity to give our young men what they have worked so hard for: a chance to safely compete for a national championship this fall. I couldn’t possibly be prouder of how this team, our medical personnel, athletic director and president have stayed together and managed through this extremely difficult time with so many unanswered questions. The Big Ten medical subcommittee has done an excellent job of creating a safe pathway toward returning to play in mid-October.“These young men and their parents have asked so many questions that I do not have the answer to, but the one that hurts the most is ‘Why can these other teams and players play and we can’t?’ Duke is playing Notre Dame and Clemson is playing Wake Forest this weekend. Our players want to know: why can’t they play?”"

Ryan Day is not alone in his criticism of the Big Ten’s lack of leadership.

The Ohio State University was one of three Big Ten schools to vote against postponing the 2020 college football season, along with the University of Iowa and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost was infuriated about it right from the jump. Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin voiced his criticism of the Big Ten again Thursday.

Though we have had college football games on television the last two weekends, Thursday night marks the first Power 5 team to take the field, as the ACC’s Miami Hurricanes will host the UAB Blazers of Conference USA in a limited capacity crowd down in Coral Gables, Florida. The ACC and the Big 12 will be in action this weekend, with the SEC taking the field on Sept. 26.

While other conferences such as the MAC, the Mountain West and the Pac-12 postponed their seasons, none have been as criticized as the Big Ten’s postponement. Players, parents, coaches, athletic directors, governors, senators and even the President of the United States of America have fought for the Big Ten’s right to play a college football season. They are seeking answers.

What stinks about this whole thing is it have become shamefully political. Then again, what hasn’t these days? Not having the Big Ten playing this fall doesn’t feel right. Along with the SEC, the Big Ten is college football. The Midwest loves this sport as much as the Southeastern United States. All the folks with Big Ten allegiances are asking is for a little transparency from its leadership.

Day summarizes it perfectly with “Our players want to know: why can’t they play?”

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