Pac-12 officials believed there was not enough evidence to support playing a fall seasonGETTY IMAGES
The decision made yesterday by Pac-12 presidents and chancellors to cancel the conference's fall football season was "very much rooted in science, economics and risk management," according to John Canzano of the Portland OREGONIAN. Pac-12 Officials "weighed the consequences, risks and liabilities." They "listened to medical experts and their own consciences." In the end, Oregon President Michael Schill, who is Chair of the Pac-12 CEO Group, "stepped out front ... to speak for his peers." Schill said bluntly, “Too many questions. Too much uncertainty.” Canzano writes, "The Pac-12 punted the season, maybe to spring. Or maybe into eternity." But he wonders, "Did two major college football conferences just overreact and dump the season prematurely? Or did they do what was absolutely in the best interest of players?" (Portland OREGONIAN, 8/12).
PICKING UP THE PIECES: In San Jose, Jon Wilner writes Pac-12 football has "overcome two World Wars, one Great Depression, the Spanish Flu, California earthquakes and a slew of other epic societal events, but it couldn’t beat coronavirus." Sources said that the conference "will explore restarting the season in the winter or spring" of '21. But Wilner writes that move is "fraught with logistical obstacles -- even if the coronavirus risks have been brought under control." One is the "physical demands that would come with playing two seasons in one calendar year; and the likelihood that many upperclassmen would skip a spring season in order to prepare for the NFL draft (scheduled for April), leaving rosters depleted." The conference's "dark fall could result in massive budget cuts, possibly including layoffs and the elimination of Olympic sports teams." However, the Pac-12 is "considering an escape hatch: A massive loan program would provide short-term relief for the schools while using the Pac-12’s future media rights contracts as collateral" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 8/12).
PLAYERS RESPOND: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said that conference presidents "wanted to give athletes certainty, even if it amounted to bad news." In N.Y., Blinder & Witz noted the #WeAreUnited Pac-12 unity group, which for the last two weeks has "pressed Scott for greater health protections, among other demands, issued a statement criticizing the conference’s 'haphazard' response to the virus and what it called a lack of transparency with players." The group "called for preserving athletes’ eligibility -- something Scott said the conference would push for from the NCAA -- as well as access to athletic department resources and uniform safety measures when football returns" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/12).
TOO GREAT A RISK: In L.A., Ryan Kartje writes the Pac-12 was "convinced that the uncertainty caused by an ongoing pandemic was too great to go forward." Still, the clarity among college administrators "didn’t make the bitter pill of a canceled football season any easier to swallow for players or coaches" (L.A. TIMES, 8/12). In Seattle, Larry Stone writes the "stark reality of the news that the Pac-12 conference is shutting down football, along with all other sports, until at least Jan. 1, still packed an emotional wallop." Still, Stone writes, "For all that anguish that no doubt is being felt ... around the conference, I can’t argue with the decision that was made." It was an "agonizing decision full of both nuance and unknowns." Billions of dollars "were at stake" and the "ability of schools to maintain their athletic programs at full capacity is now in doubt." Stone: "And never mind sports; the universities will feel the sting of this decision in academia for a long time" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/12).
SPRING FOOTBALL FOR GOOD? In L.A., Mark Whicker writes under the header, "Spring Football Is The Right Move For Pac-12, Maybe For Good." The conference should use the Jan. 1 bowl games as a "dazzling Opening Day, for all the Alabama-USC and Oregon-LSU games that kick off the seasons now" and "identify a champion in late April." Whicker: "How would that disrupt college basketball? How would it work with the NFL draft? Those are complex questions, yes. They aren’t life and death" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/12).
