The University at Buffalo football team will have to shuffle its nonconference schedule for 2020.
The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday that it will forgo its nonconference schedules for its 14 football teams and will move to a 10-game, conference only schedule for the 2020 season. The Big Ten decided to cut its athletic schedules because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
That will wipe out one of UB's four nonconference football games.
UB was scheduled to play at Ohio State on Sept. 19 in Columbus, and was scheduled to receive a payout of $1.8 million, according to a contract obtained by the News through a public records request.
Speaking on a Zoom video conference Thursday with local reporters, UB Athletic Director Mark Alnutt said the athletic department has already begun considering contingency plans for the sudden absence on the football team's 2020 schedule.
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"We talked (about) a contingency plan and what that looks like, in terms of potential opponents and in terms of following suit," Alnutt said. "Everything's on the table. This was not a surprise. This was in the works."
The Mid-American Conference has not announced any plans to reformat its schedule for the 2020 season, but, Alnutt said, "we have to start having even deeper conversations in terms of what the season's going to look like for the Mid-American Conference."
Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said Thursday on the Big Ten Network that the decision to limit fall sports to a conference-only schedule in all sports was done on the basis of making the health, safety and wellness of athletes a priority. Testing athletes, scheduling contests and traveling would also be easier, from a conference-only standpoint.
Warren said reducing the schedules to conference games was "a logical first step" towards salvaging the fall season. But he was also brutally honest about the possibility of college sports in the fall.
"We may not have sports in the fall," Warren said. "We may not have a college football season in the Big Ten."
On a conference call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said he has spoken with the Buckeyes' three nonconference opponents -- UB, Bowling Green and Oregon -- about rescheduling games in the future.
Smith also told reporters that he plans to reach out to UB and to Bowling Green next week regarding the further possibility of rescheduling games, and whether Ohio State will go forward with a payout to each program.
Buffalo's contract with Ohio State does not have specific language regarding cancellation because of a pandemic, but contains a force majeure clause regarding a cancellation.
Language in the contract states that “if it becomes impossible to play the football game for reasons of power failure, strikes, severe weather conditions, riots, war, or other unforeseen catastrophes or disasters beyond the control of either party, this Agreement may be terminated by either OSU or the Visiting Team, the football game shall be cancelled, and neither party shall be responsible to the other for any loss or damage.”
UB's contract with Ohio State also specifies that neither party would be responsible to the other for any loss or damage under a force majeure clause. However, if Ohio State was to cancel for other reasons, it would need to reimburse UB for expenses and make up the difference between the expected payout and UB's payout from its replacement opponent.
UB is scheduled to open the season Sept. 5 at Kansas State, the first of three scheduled nonconference games. The Bulls host St. Francis, an FCS program, Sept. 12 at UB Stadium, then are scheduled to play at Army on Oct. 24.
