From The Tribune staff reports
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Pac-12, as expected, has followed the Big Ten’s lead in announcing its plan to suspend the 2020 college football season due to concerns about COVID-19. Those announcements were made about an hour apart on Tuesday, Aug. 11, taking two of college football’s five power conferences off the field for the upcoming season.
According to an announcement from the conference, the Pac-12 CEO Group voted unanimously to postpone all sport competitions through the end of the 2020 calendar year. The decision was made after consultation with athletics directors and with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee who expressed concern with moving forward with contact practice.
“All of the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors understand the importance of this decision, and the disappointment it will create for our student-athletes, the coaches, support staff and all of our fans,” said Michael H. Schill, president of the University of Oregon. “Ultimately, our decision was guided by science and a deep commitment to the health and welfare of student-athletes. We certainly hope that the Pac-12 will be able to return to competition in the New Year.”
“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “Our student-athletes, fans, staff and all those who love college sports would like to have seen the season played this calendar year as originally planned, and we know how disappointing this is.”
The first FBS conference to pull the plug on a fall season was the Mid-American Conference on Saturday, and then the Mountain West did the same on Monday. Power Five conferences still attempting to play a fall season include, the SEC, ACC and Big 12.