SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, August 11, the Pac-12 joined the Big Ten as one of the power five conferences to announce no college football will be played this fall because of COVID-19. The decision was finalized at 1:16 p.m. which was an hour after the Big Ten made its decision to postpone all sports throughout the calendar year as well.

In a press release on Pac-12.com, the Pac-12 Conference stated:

“The decision was made after consultation with athletics and with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee who expressed concern with moving forward with contact practice.”

Larry Scott, Pac-12 Commissioner followed up later in webinar with Pac-12 CEO’s on Pac-12 Now app and stated:

“There were many aspects that were considered that fellow panelists will talk about today but we cannot bubble our student athletes like pro sports can. They are apart off broader communities and they are interacting with other students on campus. The health, safe, and well-being of our student athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been day one our top priority.”

The Pac-12 will continue to honor student-athletes who were impacted by the decision by having their scholarships guaranteed.

In a Instagram direct message chat, Stanford’s fifth year cornerback, Treyjohn Butler had this to say about the decision:

“It’s a decision that brings about a lot of emotions. But it is understandable. These are uncomfortable times, yet nothing will make us fold. We have saved lives. I hope people can recognize that”.

Butler plans to finish his last year at the school.

University of California-Berkeley football head coach, Justin Wilcox issued the following statement on the Cal Football Twitter page:

“I am disappointed for our student-athletes that there will not be a Pac-12 football season this fall. They have had a great attitude through all of this uncertainty.. we must continue to help our student-athletes remain healthy and safe, and we look forward to playing football when we are given the green light to do so.”

Since the decision, The Southeastern, The Big 12, and The Athletic Coast are the only remaining conferences out the power 5 that plan on playing football this fall.