While the focus of the country remains on the status of college football this fall, the Big Ten’s second-biggest sport is already preparing for any possible season.

Reports of a meeting involving all 14 head basketball coaches in the conference surfaced on Thursday, with the discussion focused on staying on the same page and avoiding the confusion that erupted in the football world this week.

Even though the future is still incredibly hazy, there remains an abundance of optimism about winter sports finding a path to take place.

Michigan State head basketball coach Tom Izzo gave his thoughts on Wednesday night, saying there was “100 percent” going to be a season. Izzo said that the extra time to put a plan in place helps the sport’s chances.

“Everybody's going to have to wake up a little bit and say, ‘Hey, we're going to have to make some sacrifices,’” Izzo said. “I think you have to give up a little bit to get a little bit. And we're going to get more time to do that.”

A number of Big Ten schools have plans in place to send all students home by Thanksgiving, and a normal college basketball regular season starts in the early days of November. All signs point to college basketball players having a little more isolation on campus by the time the season rolls around.

However, the colossal amount of unknown is still the biggest factor in any equation involving basketball.

Plans have to remain fluid, and as seen with football, any outcome is still within the realm of possibility, no matter what the plans were just weeks prior.

“We’re three months away from the scheduled start of the college basketball season. We recognize what’s been going on around the country and we’re making plans and contingencies for a change if necessary,” NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt said. “But we’re also, as we’ve said all throughout summer, trying to exercise patience and make informed decisions. We remain very confident we’ll have a college basketball season, albeit different."

Gavitt added that if basketball is being safely played anywhere else “in the world” in 2021, the NCAA Tournament will take place. He said the NCAA is still planning to start the season on time this fall, with discussions looming on the details come September.

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith displayed a more cautious optimism when discussing the possibility of winter sports in the shadow of the postponement of football on Tuesday.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll have a different view, a different handle on the pandemic as we move into late October and November time frame,” Smith said. “Those decisions remain to be made, and I’m hopeful we can figure out a way to allow those sports to kick off.”

Smith was also quick to say winter sports are too far ahead in the future to make any promises.

Appearing on the Ryen Russillo podcast on Thursday, Ohio State head basketball coach Chris Holtmann made his first public comments on the state of college athletics and his thoughts on a season.

Holtmann noted the number of different viewpoints on the football side of the conference as a major issue in finalizing any kind of fall season, and mentioned that he and all other Big Ten basketball coaches meet weekly to stay on the same page.

The amount of money the NCAA Tournament generates is too great to risk cancelling it two years in a row, Holtmann said.

He was wholehearted in his belief that a season will take place in some form.

“We meet every Thursday as Big Ten coaches, in the morning, to talk through this cycle of, ‘Okay, what’s next?’” Holtmann said on the podcast. “The reality is, we’ll have a tournament. I really believe that. I think we’ll have a season, but I think it’s going to look completely different.”

Even with the football field-sized hole in the Big Ten schedule this fall, the conference's outlook on basketball is full of confidence.