Pac-12 Committee Meets but Takes No Action on New Football Season

CEO Group delays any further action on football until next Thursday, which could push the first games into November.

The Pac-12 Conference continues to move ever so deliberately in restoring a football season during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Conference leadership met on Friday to determine next steps for a new start date, but tabled any decision-making to next Thursday. By waiting another week, this move could prevent Pac-12 teams from playing until November, which is later than initially indicated.

In announcing its resumption of football earlier this week, the Pac-12 hinted at playing games as early as Oct. 31, which is Halloween.

However, member schools maintain they need at least six weeks of practice to get their teams ready to play football. Pushing further action to next Thursday leaves Pac-12 teams with just five weeks to prepare for alate October start.

Following its meeting, the Pac-12 CEO Group, which involves presidents and athletic directors, released a somewhat vague statement:

"The Pac-12 CEO Group had an information and productive meeting earlier today. We plan to reconvene this coming Thursday, September 24, to make a decision regarding a possible return to play prior to January 1. The health and safety of our student-athletes and all of those connected to Pac-12 sports will continue to be our No. 1 priority in all of our decision-making."

Regardless, the Pac-12 will be the last Power 5 conference to play football games, with the Big Ten targeting Oct. 24 for its return. The Big 12 and ACC played season openers last week and the SEC is scheduled to play its first games next week.

Meantime, a third round of games nationwide will be held over the weekend, with at least five games canceled or postponed by the pandemic.

The matchups scrapped from the weekend schedule include the Charlotte-North Carolina, Virginia-Virginia Tech, BYU-Army, Memphis-Houston and Central Arkansas-Arkansas State games.

Fourteen games in all have been dropped from the schedule nationwide so far. 

Teams are going to great lengths to keep their football teams from contracting the virus, such as SMU, which is spacing out players in dressing areas set up in a mall area, as shown here. 

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