On Tuesday, the California State University system made a stunning announcement that all 23 campuses would be closed for the fall semester. In the announcement, CSU Chancellor Timothy White said the universities will have classes online, rather than have students return to campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement was significant for college football in the state of California. Three of the six Mountain West Conference West division teams are affected by it. Now the Pac-12 has responded with a statement of its own to address this situation.
Pac-12 will wait to make decision on college athletics
The Pac-12 statement, shared by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, indicates the Power-5 conference is not ready to make any decision:
“The Pac-12 and our member universities will make our own determinations on when our student-athletes can return to play and when and how campuses will reopen to students. These decisions will be based first and foremost on the health and well-being of all those connected to the Pac-12, and informed by the advice of public health and medical experts along with the state and local governmental orders. Every day we are learning new and important information that will inform our decisions, and we believe that there is great benefit to having as much relevant data as possible before making such decisions.”
It’s hard to argue with the logic behind this statement from the Pac-12. The most prudent thing to do at this time, while there is still plenty of time, is to wait and see.
Logistically, that may present other challenges. But it’s difficult to make wise long-term decisions about things in this ever-evolving climate.
That being said, it appears some of the other top schools in California are already leaning toward no classes this fall.
We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops.