Pac-12 votes to go to conference schedule for fall
Pac-12 football teams will keep to themselves this season, with school administrators announcing Friday all nonconference games have been canceled as they search for ways to save a season threatened by the coronavirus pandemic.
The new plan will involve only conference games in all Pac-12 fall sports.
Football, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer games will only be played within the conference, according to the conference’s release.
The move means Cal will lose its scheduled football season opener against UNLV at the Raiders’ new $2 billion Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 29 as well as a home game against Big 12 power TCU and one against Cal Poly.
Stanford, meanwhile, won’t play its annual showdown against Notre Dame, which was set for Oct. 10 in South Bend, Indiana.
The Cardinal’s season opener against William & Mary is also off.
The school’s powerhouse women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams will also be skipping the interconference tournament circuit, which usually provides a chance to test themselves against other top teams across the nation.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our number one priority,” Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “Our decisions have and will be guided by science and data, and based upon the trends and indicators over the past days, it has become clear that we need to provide ourselves with maximum flexibility to schedule, and to delay any movement to the next phase of return-to-play activities.”