Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: ASU and UA will have to wait until 2021 at the earliest before they meed each other on the field again.
By Jon Johnson
Shortly after the Big-10 announced Tuesday that it was postponing football until spring, the PAC-12 announced it would postpone all of its conference sports until January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news was first reported by ESPN.
PAC-12 commissioner Larry Scott, who himself tested positive for COVID-19 in July, said the health and safety of the athletes was the conference’s priority.
“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,” Scott said in a statement. “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.”
Last month, the PAC-12 followed the Big-10 in its decision to go to a conference-only schedule as well.
According to the PAC-12, those student-athletes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic postponement or those who choose to opt-out of playing this academic year will continue to have their scholarships guaranteed and will have an additional year of eligibility.
While the immediate effect on the postponement deals with football and women’s volleyball for the UofA and ASU, it will also affect both universities’ basketball teams (men and women), gymnastics teams, and women’s soccer.
