ABSTRACT
On August 11, 2020, the Big Ten college athletics conference decided to cancel its impending football season. Five weeks later, the conference reversed its decision, embarking on a shortened season. Was this decision justifiable? This chapter analyzes two of the conference's stated goals—the health and safety of the student athletes and the national championship aspirations of, most specifically, the Ohio State University—and then provides analyses of the financial impact and the possibility of coercion. The chapter concludes that, amid the complexity of public health ethics and the ethics of the college football enterprise, the Big Ten was ethically justified to reverse its decision and reinstate the season.
