Scott Says Pac-12 Could Start Football Season by End of October
For the Pac-12, the next step to launching a football season during a pandemic is lot like a pass rusher scrambling and spinning to get to the quarterback.
The conference is not there yet, but it's finally getting upfield.
The Pac-12 still needs authorities in all states to eliminate or lighten restrictions on pubic gatherings in those areas, but it received encouraging news on Thursday that the Los Angeles County Public Health Department would lift its limits affecting USC and UCLA.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, appearing on ESPN's SportsCenter, gave the most promising scenario yet for a season start, suggesting his teams could begin playing games as soon as the end of October.
"Getting the local county approvals as soon as possible would allow our student-athletes and our coaches to start what we think of as normal practice," Scott said. "The the best scenario is six weeks of practice, training camp and starting [games at] the end of October, early November. But that's still subject to county approvals, which we don't have yet."
Pac-12 representatives met on Thursday and took a survey of how soon the teams could be up and running, and the conference's CEO committee was expected to meet on Friday to discuss next steps.
Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News reported that Oct. 31, on Halloween, is a start date that everyone seems to agree on while they await the necessary health-official approvals.
Earlier, University of Washington coach Jimmy Lake had expressed hope that the conference would be at least practicing by November. It appears he'll get much more than he wanted.
Yet no matter how it plays out, the Pac-12 will be the final Power 5 conference to play football games, largely because Scott and the other leaders were reactive to what others were doing rather than be independently proactive.
It's clear the Pac-12 didn't want to be the only conference in college football limbo. Finances, player rosters, recruiting and, most of all, image, were already flagging. John Canzano of the Oregonian criticizes the league's response to the football situation here.
On Thursday, UW defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike, considered an All-American candidate, announced he was opting out to prepare for the NFL — the ninth headliner to leave the conference early and give up eligibility.
Five weeks ago, the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced they would postpone all fall sports, most notably football, over pandemic fears that included testing, spiking rates and long-term health affects. The Pac-12 added the caveat that all games in all sports in its domain would be delayed until January at the earliest.
On Wednesday, the Big Ten rescinded its shutdown, calling for a football season to begin on the weekend of Oct. 17.
The Pac-12, the last major conference in limbo, had no choice but to do something or suffer the wrath of its coaches, players and fans.
The conference recently reached an agreement with a company to supply COVID-19 rapid testing and expects to have the necessary equipment on campuses by the end of this month.
Yet Scott and other conference leaders haven't finalized everything yet. While regular-season games look possible, the commissioner conceded the league's involvement in the College Football Playoffs might be difficult considering its later start than the other conferences.
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: HuskyMaven/Sports Illustrated
Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Husky Maven. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.
