Pac-12 presidents will meet Thursday, Sept. 24 to decide whether it will reverse its initial decision and hold a fall football season.
Under the considered scheduling model, the conference is debating holding a six- or seven-game season.
If it chooses to play seven games, the season would likely open on Oct. 31. However, the Pac-12 could push the season’s start back to Nov. 7 if it chooses to play only six games. The conference’s title game would be held on Dec. 19, the same day the Big Ten’s is scheduled to be held.
On Aug. 11, the Pac-12 announced it would postpone a fall football season due to significant concerns over the COVID-19 virus. The decision came just hours after the Big Ten reached the same decision, and both conferences said they would attempt to hold their football seasons in the spring of 2021.
However, the Big Ten voted last week to reverse that decision and begin a shortened season on the weekend of Oct. 23-24.
Following that announcement, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott released a statement saying the conference is not yet ready to play since its universities do not have approval from public health officials to begin contact practice.
Local governments have shown their willingness to work with schools now, however rapid Covid-19 testing still remains the issue for the Pac-12 if it’s to have a football season during this 2020-2021 season.
While there was plenty of buzz leading up to the Big Ten’s vote, Pac-12 administrators have been noticeably quiet in recent days.
And rightly so!
It’s speculated school presidents and athletic directors are trying to avoid ‘a Big 10 situation’ where those member schools leaked premature or incorrect information which complicated the process.
In other Pac-12 news, the conference ( Larry Scott ), continues to put himself in the cross hairs of additional unsavory news.
According to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury, Scott reportedly gave out nearly $4 million in conference bonuses, including $2.5 million to himself, one month before he laid off or furloughed 94 employees. The optics of doing that before the cuts, while also struggling through a pandemic, certainly adds more fuel to the fire of Scott’s questionable ethics and his ability to successfully run the conference for the betterment of the member schools and not himself.
According to the report, approximately 50 conference employees received bonuses.
That’s certainly understandable amid a slowdown, however when the boss gives himself $2.5 million, it certainly reflects poorly on his decision-making skills, in addition to his overall concern for the financial health of the conference.