Menu
Colleges

Pac-12 Votes To Return, But Many Obstacles Still Remain

Rather than play its championship at Allegiant Stadium, the top Pac 12 division winner will host the gameGETTY IMAGES

The Pac-12 ended a six-month shutdown Thursday as the CEO Group of presidents and chancellors "approved a restart of competition, including an abbreviated football season that begins the weekend of Nov. 6-7," according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. Fans "won't be permitted," and the schedule "will be released next week, but the framework is set." The championship is "scheduled for Dec. 18 and will be played on the campus for the division winner with the best record." The move to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for the title game "has been delayed until next year." The conference discussed allowing some teams to start play on Halloween but "decided everyone should return together." It will be the last member of the Power 5 to return (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/25). ESPN.com's Bonagura & Dinich note the Pac-12 said that men's and women's basketball "can begin Nov. 25 while other winter sports can begin in line with their respective NCAA seasons." Utah AD Mark Harlan said that other fall sports, such as cross country, soccer and volleyball, "will continue to plan for a spring season." The conference said that the decision to not allow fans to attend games taking place on campus "will be revisited in January" (ESPN.com, 9/24). 

WEIGHING BENEFITS: In L.A., J. Brady McCollough notes Univ. of Oregon President Michael Schill, Pac-12 CEO Group Chair, said that on Thursday they "spent the meeting weighing the benefits of playing in the fall instead of the winter." Schill said that the one that mattered most was "having the ability through improved safety measures to give athletes something 'they had been deprived of.'" Schill said that the presidents "did not decide when they met last Friday so they could return to their campuses and have further conversations with athletes and faculty." Schill on Thursday "went out of his way to debunk what he believed to be a popularly held opinion regarding the conference's motive." Schill: "This has nothing to do with money. It was never once mentioned as a consideration. The losses that schools are encountering and in particular our athletic departments are huge. The amount of money that will be paid as a result of going back to play is tiny in comparison with the losses. It had no effect on our decision." But McCullough notes the Pac-12 by playing in the fall "will receive a $66 million payout from the College Football Playoff' (L.A. TIMES, 9/25).

TESTING IMPROVEMENTS: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott on Thursday said the league's recent contract for daily testing of athletes was "a game-changer in enabling us to move forward." In N.Y., Alan Blinder notes the league's medical advisory panel said that it "had agreed it was possible to play, in part, because of improvements in pandemic conditions" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/25). USA TODAY's Paul Myerberg notes one concern is how the Pac-12 "will work with existing state guidelines dictating crowd sizes and county health protocols that can shift dramatically based on surges in coronavirus cases." Schill said, 'We're moving forward now, but we're not moving forward with our eyes shut." Schill said if there are surges of COVID-19 cases, "We will stop playing" (USA TODAY, 9/25). In Spokane, Theo Lawson notes the Nov. 6-7 start date "doesn't offer any wiggle room for postponements or rescheduling, indicating Pac-12 teams will have to play seven games in seven weeks." Already, 21 college football games have been postponed due to COVID-19 (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 9/25). ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt said the Pac-12 has “no wiggle room” ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 9/25). ESPN's Jesse Palmer: “Still a lot of people are holding their breath to see how this is exactly going to play out" ("College Football Countdown," ESPN, 9/24).

NOT SO FAST: In Colorado, Brian Howell writes the excitement of the Pac-12's news "was tempered" for Univ. of Colorado because they "still don't know when they'll get on the field." Boulder County Public Health on Thursday morning issued an order halting all gatherings for 18-to-22-year-old Boulder residents until at least Oct. 8 due to a spike in coronavirus cases since CU's semester began on Aug. 24. CU's football team, which "had been practicing in helmets and shells on a limited basis the past few weeks, now has to shut down for two weeks." BCPH Exec Dir Jeff Zayach said that he is "not sure at this time if it will be possible for CU to play football this fall." While CU suddenly has a big hurdle to clear, CU AD Rick George said, "When the 'go' button is pressed, we're going to be ready to go" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 9/25).

Pac 12 leaders were faced with the prospect of being left behind if it did not play this fallGETTY IMAGES

FOMO? The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Laine Higgins writes the decision by the conference's CEO Group of presidents and chancellors "reflects the reality that the Pac-12 faced the prospect of being left behind in the lucrative world of college football as the sport's other elites pressed forward." Three of the biggest leagues that make up the Power Five "never backed away from playing" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/25). YAHOO SPORTS' Pete Thamel wrote it is "oddly comforting to have football back and the world order restored with the Pac-12 lodged in the sport's caboose." The Pac-12 "hasn't won a national title in 15 seasons, hasn't appeared in the past five College Football Playoff title games and has been excluded from the playoff entirely the past three seasons." The Pac-12 has "firmly established itself as the No. 5 league in the Power Five in the College Football Playoff era," and the joy that accompanies the league's return in '20 "should also be tinged with this reality: No power conference faces bigger obstacles in earning a playoff bid" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/24). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said the Pac-12 "shouldn’t feel any pressure.” Coaches have stated they “need eight weeks to get ready and they haven’t practiced at all." This is "not like the Big Ten, where students were on campus and they were working out." The Pac-12 "went cold turkey and said, ‘We’re not doing it, we’re done,’ and so no, they weren’t even working out" ("PTI," ESPN, 9/24).

SAFE & SOUND? In Portland, John Canzano writes, "Criticize the conference all you'd like today. Have at it." Canzano: "They're the slowest wildebeest inhabiting the major college football plains. They're not a difficult meal. ... But this amounts to a sound plan for a conference that probably wasn't going to have a playoff entry anyway." The Pac-12 "gets to fulfill its television obligations." Fans, players and coaches "get some games." The spring of '21 "won't feel like such a scramble." It will instead be "about getting college athletes back on schedule." Canzano: "I wonder if the Pac-12 might just end up looking smarter than some others a couple of months from now" (Portland OREGONIAN, 9/25). In Utah, Mike Sorensen writes, "Give the Pac-12 credit for reconsidering after getting pressure from football players and their families, various politicians and a lot of fans, along with a new, more reliable testing system" (DESERET NEWS, 9/25).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/09/25/Colleges/Pac-12.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/09/25/Colleges/Pac-12.aspx

CLOSE