The Pac-12 will use a conference-only playing schedule for football and several other fall sports should teams be able to compete in the …
The Pac-12 will use a conference-only playing schedule for football and several other fall sports should teams be able to compete in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the conference announced Friday.
In doing so, the Pac-12 joins the Big Ten in becoming the second Power Five conference to make a decision that could foreshadow similar changes across the entire Bowl Subdivision.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our number one priority,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement.
“Our decisions have and will be guided by science and data, and based upon the trends and indicators over the past days, it has become clear that we need to provide ourselves with maximum flexibility to schedule, and to delay any movement to the next phase of return-to-play activities.”
In addition, the conference said it would be delaying the beginning of all mandatory athletic activities “until a series of health and safety indicators, which have recently trended in a negative direction, provided sufficient positive data to enable a move to a second phase of return-to-play activities.”
There was “complete agreement” among Pac-12 athletics directors as the group discussed the viable options, Oregon State athletics director Scott Barnes said. “We were all in agreement that this was our best bet.”
While denying big paydays to teams from smaller conferences, the decision also cancels some significant games, starting with Southern California against Alabama in Arlington, Texas on Sept.5 as well Notre Dame games against USC and Stanford.
“With the Pac-12’s decision to move to a conference-only schedule, we will do our best to adjust,” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne said on Twitter. “What that looks like is to be determined.”
More: Opinion: After a jarring 24 hours in college sports, football season is in big trouble
More: Top college football matchups we won’t see in 2020 after Big Ten’s decision to go conference only
The sorts of marquee non-conference games eliminated by the league’s decision can often play a significant role in determining the makeup of the College Football Playoff.
