The Pac-12 conference announced on Friday that it will play a conference-only schedule this fall, including football, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The CEO Group made clear that it hopes to play football and all other fall sports provided that it can meet the health and safety needs of its student-athletes and obtain appropriate permissions from state and local health authorities.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our number one priority,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “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 Pac-12 will push back its mandatory workout start date from July 13 to a date yet to be determined. Teams that were going to open the season on Sept. 5 were scheduled to begin workouts on July 13.
“Competitive sports are an integral part of the educational experience for our student-athletes, and we will do everything that we can to support them in achieving their dreams while at the same time ensuring that their health and safety is at the forefront,” said Michael Schill, Pac-12 CEO Group Chair and President of the University of Oregon.
USC loses its marquee matchup against Alabama at AT&T Stadium and its traditional non-conference game against rival Notre Dame.
Regarding our football schedule, I have communicated today’s Pac-12 decision to the athletic directors at Alabama, New Mexico and Notre Dame and there is no additional information to share at this time,” USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn said in a statement. “We recognize how important both our historic series with Notre Dame and highly-anticipated contest with Alabama are to our student-athletes, fans and alumni.”
Notable games lost:
Sept. 5 Michigan at Washington
Sept. 5 USC vs. Alabama
Sept. 12 Ohio State at Oregon
Sept. 19 Colorado at Texas A&M
Oct. 10 Stanford at Notre Dame
Nov. 28 Notre Dame at USC
