President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday in Washington, as he heads to Wisconsin for a campaign rally. (AP photo)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was quick to spike the ball in celebration when the Big Ten announced the return of fall football at colleges clustered in some of the Midwest battleground states critical to his re-election effort, declaring, “I’m the one who got football back.”

But his efforts to reverse last month’s decision to postpone fall sports in the conference because of the novel coronavirus were far from the only factor that led officials to change course.

The Big Ten — one of the power conferences that drives the big business of college sports — was under enormous pressure to restart the season from athletes, parents, coaches and college towns that rely on football Saturdays to fill restaurants and hotels and provide much-needed tax revenue.

For weeks, Trump allied himself with the effort.

Trump’s advisers said the episode underscores how the president’s unconventional style — his Twitter rebukes and rhetorical bluster — gets things done.