ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday (Aug. 5) a 10-game conference only schedule for the 2020 football season, pending that it is able to be played amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league announced on July 9 that it would play a conference-only schedule this fall.
Michigan is scheduled to open the season on Sept. 5 against Purdue at Michigan Stadium.
The in-state rivalry game for the Paul Bunyan Trophy will be played in Ann Arbor for the second straight season as Michigan State is slated to visit on Oct. 3. In addition to Purdue and Michigan State, the Wolverines will also play home games against Penn State (Sept. 19), Wisconsin (Oct. 31) and Maryland (Nov. 7) at the Big House.
The Battle for the Little Brown Jug, Michigan’s rivalry match-up with Minnesota, is scheduled to be the first road game on Sept. 12. The Wolverines are scheduled to travel for road contests against Rutgers (Sept. 26), Indiana (Oct. 17), Ohio State (Oct. 24) and Northwestern (Nov. 21) this fall. This will be the first time since 1942 that Michigan and Ohio State do not meet during the final weekend of the Big Ten regular season.
The 2020 schedule also includes two open weeks (Oct. 10 and Nov. 14). Additional information regarding game times and TV network selection will be forthcoming as it becomes available from the conference.
Ticketing information will be determined and distributed in the near future if medical experts and government agencies allow for fans at home games.
Following is Michigan’s 2020 football schedule:
Date Opponent
Sept. 5 Purdue
Sept. 12 at Minnesota
Sept. 19 Penn State
Sept. 26 at Rutgers
Oct. 3 Michigan State
Oct. 10 Open Week
Oct. 17 at Indiana
Oct. 24 at Ohio State
Oct. 31 Wisconsin
Nov. 7 Maryland
Nov. 14 Open Week
Nov. 21 at Northwestern
Home games in Bold
Big Ten Announces Medical Protocols
Working with the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (Task Force) and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee (Committee), the Big Ten Conference also released its medical policies and protocols for all sports on the specific topics of testing requirements, and quarantine and isolation. Testing will be managed by a third-party laboratory to ensure consistency across the Conference.
Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic, the protocols will be updated regularly as new information becomes available and feedback from student-athletes is continuously evaluated.
The protocols have been developed to guide institutions in the minimum necessary requirements needed to participate in athletics in the 2020-21 academic year. These protocols, which will go into effect at the start of the competitive season and complement local protocols already in place at the institutional level, serve to provide specific requirements, in addition to considerations that have previously been developed by the Task Force, the Autonomy 5 Medical Advisory Group and the NCAA.
