❚ Pac-12 makes changes to address officiating.
LOS ANGELES – The Pac-12 Conference is changing its officiating policies and procedures following an external review.
The conference announced the changes at the start of Wednesday’s media day in Los Angeles.
The review was spearheaded by Sibson Consulting and overseen by a subcommittee of Pac-12 athletic directors from Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State and Colorado.
❚ The head of officiating will report directly to commissioner Larry Scott and not the football administrator;
❚ Officials will follow new procedures put forth in a new replay manual;
❚ Officials will receive new training programs;
❚ The league will have “more transparency and public comment around significant calls or errors” that impact the results of games or player safety.
Much of the controversy stemmed from a game between USC and Washington State in 2018 in which a third-party overruled a call made on site.
A game official believed he was overruled by a Pac-12 executive when it came to a targeting call against Washington State linebacker Logan Tago in a game against USC.
Replay officials in the stadium as well as the Pac-12’s headquarters in San Francisco decided it was targeting but were overridden by the “third party.”
“We have taken steps to insure that something like that never happens again,” Arizona State Athletic Director Ray Anderson said.
“There is no end to getting better when it comes to the officiating front.”
The comprehensive four-month review included assessments of procedures of both the NFL and other NCAA conferences. It took into account feedback from current and former officials, coaches and athletic directors, and analysis of officiating data.
The review was led by Sibson and overseen by a committee of conference athletic directors chaired by Anderson and also included Oregon’s Rob Mullens, Oregon State’s Scott Barnes and Colorado’s Rick George.
The Pac-12 released its preseason poll and Utah was an overwhelming favorite in the South with a point total of 206. That well ahead of USC (167) with ASU and UCLA tied at 116. Utah was also picked to win the Pac-12 title game. Rounding out the South are Arizona (85) and Colorado (46).
Both Oregon and Washington received 17 first-place votes in the North with Oregon picked first by the slimmest of margins, 190-189. Rounding out the North are Stanford (129), Washington State (108), Cal (81) and Oregon State (38).
The conference also released a preseason all-conference team.
ASU junior running back Eno Benjamin was a first-team selection while sophomore linebacker Merlin Robertson, center Cohl Cabral and kicker Brand Ruiz were second team honorees. Sophomore safety Aashari Crosswell and senior lineman Zach Robertson were honorable mentions.
Arizona was represented by linebacker Colin Schooler on first team and running back J.J. Taylor on second team.
Pac-12 championship moves to Las Vegas
The Pac-12 football championship game will move from Santa Clara to Las Vegas for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The formal announcement was made Wednesday in conjunction with Pac-12 Media Day in Los Angeles, but had long been rumored. The event will be held at the new home of the Oakland Raiders, who are expected to make the move to Las Vegas for the 2020 NFL season. Construction of the $1.8-billion stadium began in September 2017 and is expected to be completed next July, in time for the NFL and college football seasons.
Levi’s Stadium will still host the 2019 Pac-12 Championship Game.