Big 10 Becomes First Power 5 to Cut Football Non-Conference Slate

The domino effect with the Ivy League canceling its fall sports season is coming to light 24 hours after the conference made its announcement on Wednesday.

The Big Ten announced Thursday that it will strip all non-conference games of its fall football slate, setting up for a league-only schedule. They become the first Power 5 conference to make the move, with the Pac-12 and the ACC potentially following suit, according to The Athletic and Stadium, respectively.

The suspension of non-conference games will have a direct impact on the Group of 5 squads and FCS teams who rely on these "money games" during the football season. States within these conferences, such as Arizona, California and Texas, have experienced recent COVID-19 outbreaks.

While the SEC and Big 12 seem to be hush-hush about the situation, there could eventually be enough pressure for these two conferences to cancel all non-conference games.

NM State has been directly impacted by the news today. The football team was anticipating their season-opener against UCLA (Aug. 27), which competes in the Pac-12. In all, according to Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News, the Aggies could stand to lose $2.7 million in revenue from Power-5 games.

The Miners currently have two major money-making games this season in Texas Tech (Sept. 5) and Texas (Sept. 19). The potential millions lost between just those two contests could put the Miners in a tough financial situation. Also to note, in 2021 the Miners don't have a money game, as they host Bethune-Cookman (FCS) and New Mexico, while traveling to NMSU and Boise State.

The Ivy League tipped the first domino. Who's next to drop?