The Pac-12 followed the Big 10’s lead on Tuesday, electing to postpone all sports until the spring.
“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a release from the conference. “Our student-athletes, fans, staff and all those who love college sports would like to have seen the season played this calendar year as originally planned, and we know how disappointing this is.”
Scott also said all scholarships will be guaranteed, and the conference is urging the NCAA to extend eligibility relief to the affected athletes.
Representatives from each of the Power 5 conferences held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the potential of the season, and reports that the Big 10 and Pac-12 would be the first to cancel the season soon swirled.
Despite a push from athletes across the nation to continue with the season, the Big 10 became the first to forego the 2020 season on Tuesday.
On July 10, the Pac-12 announced it would adopt a conference-only schedule for its fall sports. Before the announcement, Texas A&M football was scheduled to host Colorado on Sept. 19.
“Unlike professional sports, college sports cannot operate in a bubble,” Scott said in the release. “Our athletic programs are a part of broader campuses in communities where in many cases the prevalence of COVID-19 is significant. We will continue to monitor the situation and when conditions change we will be ready to explore all options to play the impacted sports in the new calendar year.”
The ACC, Big 12, SEC, ACC, C-USA and Sun Belt are still scheduled to hold competition this fall.