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Big 12 Announces Changes Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Everything remains in limbo through at least May.

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The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Big 12 into shifting its policies this offseason.

The league announced Sunday that it will join the rest of the power conferences in allowing virtual meetings between its staff (players, coaches and staffers) beginning on Monday, and that all virtual group activities will be limited.

“All ‘virtual’ group activities, including film study, are limited to two hours per week in all sports,” the Big 12 said in a statement. “Only countable coaches may conduct virtual film study, technical discussions, tactical sessions and other non-physical activities. These policies will be revisited and adjusted at regular intervals and as circumstances dictate.”

The league previously said all team and individual practices, meetings and other organized gatherings were suspended until March 29 and then re-evaluated with its updated stance Sunday. The league continued with that decision through at least May 31. It noted that no organized, in-person activities are allowed, nor in-person workouts.

This falls in line with — and even pushes back — the date to which Donald Trump extended social distancing guidelines on Sunday. After initially saying he wanted to open the country back up by Easter, he said Sunday he will extend strict social distancing guidelines through April 30, at the earliest, and will re-evaluate then.

Worse for OSU, it appears recruiting will continue to be affected in a not-insignificant way. The Big 12 in its statement also announced: “Prospective student-athletes may not be involved in any capacity in any countable activities, including virtual activities.” March 1-April 14 is a scheduled quiet period on the NCAA calendar, and the NCAA has already suspended on- and off-campus recruiting through that date as a measure of response to the health crisis at hand.

Spring sports have already been canceled by the NCAA and the 2020 Olympics has been pushed back to 2021, so it seems there’s no imminent re-start date for athletics both at the college and professional levels.

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