Helton said answers to any questions about the season aren't expected for another six to eight weeksGETTY IMAGES
USC football coach Clay Helton said that a conference-only schedule in '20 is "one possible option that's elicited 'viable discussions' among coaches and conference officials," according to Ryan Kartje of the L.A. TIMES. Helton said that the "all-conference" schedule was "one of many scenarios discussed in recent days as a possible path forward for college football" this year. Those discussions have been largely hypothetical thus far, but Helton said that he and the rest of the Pac-12 coaches are "still optimistic about the upcoming college football season." Helton said that answers to any looming questions about the upcoming season "aren't expected for another six to eight weeks" (L.A. TIMES, 5/12). Stanford football coach David Shaw on conference-only play said, "Hopefully there are some regional things that do happen as we get closer to the start of football, to where most of our states, if not all of our states, on the West Coast can be on a similar timeline" (SEATTLE TIMES, 5/12). Shaw said that he "doesn't necessarily agree with NCAA President Mark Emmert's belief that college campuses should be open before college sports can resume." Shaw said, "That's a great sentiment, but I don't know that that's going to rule the day when it's all said and done." He added, "The president of the United States is going to have to weigh-in, and I think every state governor is going to have a weigh-in. I think every president, provost, chancellor is going to have a weigh-in" (AP, 5/11).
FUTURE OVERHAUL? Arizona AD Dave Heeke said if there is no Pac-12 football in the fall, it will "financially decimate the conference." He added, "If it gets to that, you have to question the size of our staff and what we do with all those folks. We've basically cleaned out our war chest." Heeke: "There's no good road map for what we're facing. If this goes on for an extended period, the overall structure of college athletics is at risk. We'll have to repackage what we've done for many years" (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 5/12).
