In the end, everybody listened. The Oklahoma administration listened to the student-athletes. The Big 12 conference listened to its 10 members.

Let’s play, or at least attempt to have a 2020 fall sports season at OU with football, volleyball, women’s soccer and cross country despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Big 12 announced Wednesday morning it plans to move on toward having a season, releasing a revised 10-game football schedule. OU’s brass has been very vocal about wanting to play, trusting its safety measures and protocols.

“We have been unwavering in putting our focus squarely on the well-being of our student-athletes and staff members," said athletic director Joe Castiglione in a press release. “We have gone to great lengths in setting a list of protocols that were guided by our medical team and in consultation with industry leaders.

“There has been great effort expended in areas like testing and sanitizing, which are part of a comprehensive plan. We are prepared to not only continue those practices, but to expand them as we move into this phase of the upcoming season.”

Castiglione said OU will continue to be transparent with its COVID-19 testing results and any new information it learns about the virus.

The Sooners have been a prime example from a national standpoint of COVID-19 testing gone well. Ever since the initial June 29 testing that had 14 positive cases, OU has only had one since within the football program.

That’s 656 tests combining players and staff with just one positive result in the last month. OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. said OU has been under the guidance of national medical experts and its own medical team, including the chief football physician, head athletics trainer and OU’s chief COVID officer.

“Their considered opinion at this time, is that with the additional safety measures we will insist on for our student-athletes and all we play against, our student-athletes' overall health and welfare is best protected by proceeding with the season,” said Harroz in the press release. “Importantly, their decades of experience inform their opinion that our students would be at greater health risk by being outside the rigorous protocols we have in place.”

OU football began preseason camp July 31 because the original schedule had the Sooners playing Missouri State on Aug. 29. Head coach Lincoln Riley said since that game was being moved (now Sept. 12), OU sent the players home after Saturday’s practice with the hope of them returning to campus Friday for another round of COVID-19 testing and getting back to preparing for the season.

It looked bleak as if we would even reach this stage Sunday afternoon as it became apparent some of the Power 5 conferences’ medical experts were going to advise at least postponing the fall season, if not just outright canceling it.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences did just that with their announcements Tuesday. The SEC and ACC remain adamant in playing. And after listening to everybody involved, the Big 12 is in that boat as well, working toward having a season.

“Ultimately, our student-athletes have indicated their desire to compete in the sports they love this season and it is up to all of us to deliver a safe, medically sound, and structured academic and athletic environment for accomplishing that outcome,” said Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby.

Now it’s time to turn the page. As it stands, OU is 31 days away from the season opener against Missouri State. The press release said the athletic department is finalizing policies and procedures that will be in place for the upcoming season, including significant protocols for spectators are forthcoming.

Capacity limits have been a topic of discussion amongst fans for the last several months, and OU has to answer them, which should make everybody happy that that’s still a point of discussion.

For now, it appears football time in Oklahoma will be a thing in 2020.