The Michigan State football team won’t play a game this fall.
That was cemented when the Big Ten on Tuesday canceled all fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic, while keeping open the possibility of playing in the spring.
Despite the schedule being wiped clean in coach Mel Tucker’s first year, it doesn’t mean work stops for the Spartans.
Acting within NCAA rules, Michigan State will have organized workouts, including lifting, running and working out, in small groups with strength and conditioning staff members. Players will continue to have access to the Duffy Daugherty Building and medical and training staff. Safety protocols remain in place at the building and COVID-19 testing will continue.
That means, at least for now, the Spartans can continue to train. That could change if the NCAA or Big Ten enact new rules, or if local health restrictions related to COVID-19 prevent them from doing so.
“Over the next few months, we will continue to support the academic and social development of our student-athletes, and to whatever extent is possible, also their athletic training, while continuing to place a priority on their physical and mental health,” Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman said in a statement released Tuesday.
Watch Mel Tucker tell Michigan State players fall football is canceled
Having organized workouts in small groups in mid-August is far from the normal schedule in college football, but this is obviously an unusual year, especially for the Spartans. Mark Dantonio abruptly retired on Feb. 4 after 13 seasons leading the program and Tucker was hired as his replacement.
Then the pandemic swept across the country. Michigan State’s spring practice was canceled before it started and players and coaches spent the next three months communicating from home. Players began returning to campus in June for COVID-19 testing ahead of voluntary workouts and the Spartans started an extended summer schedule on July 13. Positive COVID-19 results resulted in the entire team being in quarantine for two weeks before resuming workouts on Aug. 5.
Michigan State returned to team activities the same day the Big Ten released revised 10-game, conference-only schedules. Teams that were scheduled to open the season on Sept. 5 were allowed to start fall camp on Friday. That included Michigan State, which had its first practice under Tucker.
NCAA proposes eligibility extension, extends recruiting dead period
The schedule was altered when the Big Ten on Saturday announced practice restrictions, preventing teams from transitioning to pads and allowing helmets as the only protective equipment. Under the original plan and according to NCAA rules, the Spartans would have had their first fully-padded practice on Wednesday. They never even got into shoulder pads before the season was scrapped on Tuesday.
Michigan State on Wednesday released a video of Tucker telling the team the fall season was canceled. It included comments from other team members.
“No more worrying about this, this and this,” offensive line coach and run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic told players. “We know what’s going down now. We’ve got to be all in now. Training with (head strength and conditioning) Coach (Jason) Novak, any little bit of football work we do, we do it right and it’s all about we’re ready to go this spring. And if it happens this spring, then we’re ready. Now we’ve got our offseason, now we’re getting our spring, now we’re going to play ball.”
Mel Tucker’s transition at Michigan State stuck in neutral due to pandemic
The Big Ten was the first Power 5 conference to cancel the fall season and the Pac-12 followed the same day. Whether the Big Ten can actually pull off a spring season remains unclear, and there are plenty of complications associated with one, including playing two seasons in the same calendar year and eligibility and roster questions. There’s also the Senior Bowl and NFL combine and draft to consider.
The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday announced recommendations to extend eligibility for fall sports athletes whose seasons were affected by COVID-19 and the NCAA Board of Governors is expected to rule on that on Aug. 21. Plenty of questions remain about college football moving forward but, at least for now, Michigan State players will continue preparing for the future, albeit an uncertain one.
“While the conclusion to postpone the season is not easy for anyone, based on the medical recommendations, I respect the decision of the Big Ten Conference,” Tucker said in a statement released Tuesday. “When the medical experts tell us that we can get back to business, we’ll be ready.”
Get Spartan Confidential texts straight to your phone from our Michigan State football writers. Cut through the clutter of social media and communicate directly with our beat reporters, just like you would with your friends. It costs $4.99 a month but you will get a 60-day free trial by texting 517-343-1808 to sign up now.
Related Michigan State football stories:
Michigan State football players react to season being canceled
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren says canceling fall football a ‘holistic decision’
Key Qs: What happens next for Big Ten football teams?
Football cancellation ‘a sad day in the history of Michigan State,’ AD Bill Beekman says