Cal Football: What Does the CSU Decision Mean for Bears' Season?
What does it mean for Cal’s 2020 football season that California State University Chancellor Timothy White announced on Tuesday that CSU plans to cancel most in-person classes in the fall?
Well, it only offers hints. There is so much contradictory speculation about what each announcement means that it’s difficult to know what any bit of news means for fall sports.
First of all, remember that the CSU system is a separate entity from the UC system, of which Cal and UCLA are a part.
But let’s consider a few points.
--The Mountain West Conference, which has three CSU members—San Diego State, Fresno State and San Jose State—issued a statement Tuesday evening saying that, despite the CSU announcement, no decision has been made regarding athletics in the fall.
--San Diego State remains committed to fielding fall sports, hoping to have football in the fall, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. Aztecs athletic director John David Wicker said he is developing a plan to begin bringing student-athletes back to campus starting on July 7.
Meanwhile Fresno State is still exploring its options for fall sports, including football, according to the Fresno Bee.
So the CSU announcement might not necessarily eliminate a 2020 football season for its member schools, although Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson had say in April that no athletics would take place until campuses are open and fully operational.
Cal Poly is a CSU member and is Cal’s third opponent for the 2020 football season, scheduled for a Sept. 12 game in Berkeley. Whether that game is in jeopardy with the CSU announcement is unclear.
More significant may be what is being reported about the UC system.
-- University of California officials are expected to announce in June or July how the UC system will determine whether its campuses can open up in the fall, the Los Angeles Times reported.
UC spokesman Stett Holbrook told CBS2 in an email, “At this juncture, it’s likely none of our campuses will fully re-open in fall. We will be exploring a mixed approach with some material delivered in classroom and lab settings while other classes will continue to be online.”
And how do things stand for UC Berkeley specifically?
--Cal is exploring three possible scenarios for the fall, according to a May 11 video of Cal chancellor Carol Christ provided on the Campus Conversations site.
“The first [scenario] is one in which we’re fully remote, just as we are in this part of the semester,” the chancellor said in the video. “The second is one in which most of our activities are in-person but some portion of them are still remote. And the third scenario is one in which, is really a hybrid scenario, in which many of our activities are still remote, but then others are in person.”
In short, all options are on the table.
Here is the entire video:
And the Pac-12?
--Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a tweet to USA TODAY’s Steve Berkowitz that the CSU announcement has little effect on what the Pac-12 will do.
Here is the entire Pac-12 statement:
“The Pac-12 and our member universities will make our own determination on when our student-athletes can return to play when and how campuses will reopen to students. These decisions will be based first and foremost on the health and well-being of all those connected to the Pac-12, and informed advice of public health and medical experts along with state and local governmental orders. Everyday we are learning new and important information that will inform our decisions, and we believe that there is a great benefit to having as much relevant data as possible before making such decisions.”
--Furthermore, Scott told the Mercury News last week that he is increasingly optimistic about having a football season in 2020.
He cited three reasons for his increased optimism: the lack of pushback after the NFL released its 2020 schedule, news that some Pac-12 schools plan to open their campuses in the fall, and encouraging discussions with the Pac-12’s COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee.
NCAA president Mark Emmert put a cloud over the issue when he said last week that fall sports cannot be played if campuses are not reopened to students.
But Emmert seemed to walk back those statements in comments to ESPN.com on Tuesday, saying the NCAA won't mandate or oversee a uniform return to college sports. He said the decision on start dates will be left up to state officials and university presidents.
Stanford coach David Shaw said this week that partially opening campuses may provide an “acceptable” means for having a fall football season.
USC coach Clay Helton said on Monday he expects some decision about the 2020 Pac-12 football season in six to eight weeks. That would mean a decision might come in July. That would cut things close to start the season as scheduled, because three Pac-12 coaches said on Tuesday that they would need six weeks “minimum” to prepare players for a game.
Options include modifying the 2020 schedule to eliminate nonconference games so conference teams would play only Pac-12 opponents, possibly in an 11-game schedule in which all Pac-12 teams would play each other.
ESPN.com provided a history of recent headlines related to the state of college football amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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