This might be a reasonable concern.
Pac-12 cancels fall 2020 college football season, aims to play in spring 2021
While the Big Ten's coaches were outspoken about wanting to play, the Pac-12's coaches were largely silent. Perhaps that is because the league's coaches and athletic directors were reportedly given "eye-opening" information Monday evening from Pac-12 doctors, specifically regarding myocarditis, a heart condition that can develop as a result of battling the coronavirus. The condition involves an inflammation of the heart muscle. It can reduce the heart's ability to pump, causing rapid or abnormal heartbeat.
Though COVID-19 had previously been linked to longer-lasting heart complications, the medical advice given to Pac-12 decision-makers was apparently enough to lead them to pull the plug on playing this fall.
Myocarditis emerged as a significant health concern that largely led to the Big Ten's decision, according to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. At least 15 Big Ten players have been left with myocarditis after contracting COVID-19, according to a high-ranking source within the Big Ten.
"Myocarditis is the ballgame right now," the source told Dodd. "Myocarditis is the major issue they're looking at. … Between the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, that's what is really driving the push to push this off to spring."
In its latest medical guidelines, the NCAA said infected persons "of any age" with underlying heart conditions are a risk. There's at least one Power Five school where athletes who test positive for the coronavirus automatically get an EKG. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told the Associated Press on Sunday there was "growing evidence" of concern over myocarditis. Medical experts have told West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons that moving to the spring "will give us more time to be able to understand if the virus does necessarily impact the heart."
Recovery from myocarditis can vary anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, according to Harvard Medical School.