The Pac-12 Conference canceled the fall sports season this week due to health concerns from the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision leaves USC and UCLA football fans in the lurch for now, but officials said that when conditions improve, they would consider a return to competition for impacted sports after Jan. 1, 2021, raising the possibility that the football season could be played in the spring.
Student-athletes at all 12 conference schools will continue to have their scholarships guaranteed.
“On March 12, I wrote what I called the hardest message I’ve ever had to deliver in 35+ years as an administrator to our student-athletes, coaches, and staff informing them that winter championships and spring seasons were canceled,” Trojans Athletics Director Mike Bonin said. “Nearly five months to the day, our hearts again ache for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, and fans with the postponement of all sport competitions through the end of the calendar year. Another incomprehensible consequence of an unprecedented time. We wanted to play, we wanted to coach, and we still hope for the opportunity to do both when conditions improve.
“In listening to our Pac-12 Medical Advisory Committee present the latest data over the past few days, it became abundantly clear that, despite our gargantuan efforts locally and as a conference, there is too much uncertainty to move forward with athletics practices and competitions at this time,” he continued.
UCLA Athletics Director Martin Jarmond said the school “is in complete support of the decision by the Pac-12 CEO Group to postpone all sport competitions through the end of the calendar year; no game is worth jeopardizing the health of even one person.
“I am disappointed for all those impacted, especially our student-athletes, but if the past few months have shown us anything, it is just how resilient our young people are. As a conference, we will continue to explore how best to move forward. In the meantime, our focus will be on the continued support of our student-athletes’ academic success, physical and mental health and overall well-being,” Jarmond added.
Conference officials said they are strongly encouraging the NCAA to grant students who opt out of competition this academic year an additional year of eligibility.
The Big 10 Conference already announced a similar decision, with hopes of rescheduling football games in the spring. The Mountain West Conference, which includes San Diego State, announced Monday that it was postponing its football and other fall sports season indefinitely.
