Safety may trump equity for football

Sometime next week, Pac-12 presidents and chancellors will decide whether to lift or extend the suspension of oncampus team activities that runs through the end of this month.

The return to campus for voluntary workouts is the first of three steps but the least significant with regard to the timing.

In order of importance, those steps are:

• Starting the season on time in the first week of September

• Commencing a formal but extended training camp in late July

• Beginning voluntary on-campus workouts in June

Every program wants as many players back as soon as possible, but whether the return unfolds on June 10, June 20 or June 30 is not a

make-or-break issue for Pac-12 football.

What matters is the players be allowed back at some point in the next six weeks.

And that’s the issue the presidents must address next week.

We do not expect the conference-wide suspension to be extended, at least not all the way through June. Most likely, the presidents will allow schools to bring players back to campus for voluntary workouts next month in phases, as long as certain safety guidelines are met and the process fits within the framework of state restrictions.

What we expect, in other words, is a staggered approach that is heavy on common sense but potentially low on equity.

We could see limits set on the number of players allowed back at any one time. We could see Utah, Colorado and the Arizona schools having more players on campus by June 20, for example, than the California schools.

But equity isn’t reasonable, at least not now. Equity is required for the onset of training camp, not for this first phase — not for the voluntary workouts.

Safety is the central issue, in more ways than one.

Yes, the schools must have the protocols in place for social distancing, hygiene, temperature checks, Covid-19 testing, quarantine/isolation, etc.

But make no mistake: The coaches, athletic directors and presidents believe campus is a healthier environment than what some players will experience in their hometowns with restrictions lifted.

Would Utah, for example, rather have a player working out at a gym in a strip mall in Salt Lake City or in the Utes’ facility, with eyes fixed on him and everything he touches?

On campus, nutrition can be controlled for athletes who don’t, or cannot afford, to eat healthy.

And from the standpoint of mental health, some players are far better off on campus, surrounded by teammates and coaches.

With that in mind, we fully expect the Pac-12 presidents next week to sign off on the gradual return of football players — of all athletes — by the middle of June (assuming safety precautions are in place).

The SEC’s plan, announced Friday morning, allows weight rooms to open for football players on June 8. The Pac-12 might do the same, or it might be a week behind. And not every campus will open the doors on the same day.

As with every step on the road to kickoff, the process will be cautious and uneven. Save yourself some angst and — at least for the voluntary workouts portion of the restart — ignore the desire for equity.

It’s not reasonable, and it’s not essential. Avoiding setbacks ... that’s essential.

Around the Pac-12

USC has an athletic director in place (Mike Bohn). UCLA has an athletic director in place (Martin Jarmond). Now is the moment for the Trojans and Bruins to begin the process of helping to lead the conference. Time is running short for the programs in the Pac-12’s biggest market to maximize their brand value before the conference takes its media rights to the negotiating table.

• Arizona will face Alabama in a homeand-home series in the early 2030s. Yep, the mighty Crimson Tide is headed to Tucson. (Have to think Alabama AD Greg Byrne, the former boss in Tucson, made that happen.)

• Oregon is No. 7 in the CBS Sports preseason top-25. “Play it out in the best-case scenario and you see the Ducks as an 11-1 team that has taken advantage of getting several key matchups in Autzen Stadium to win the Pac-12 and content for a spot in the College Football Playoff. But with several questions ... the worst-case scenario involves a three or four-game swing.”

• Martin Jarmond, the newly-hired athletic director in Westwood, must make football relevant, writes the L.A. Times’ Bill Plaschke. “Jarmond, 40, from Boston College, is known as a terrific fundraiser and forward thinker who can inspire rowdy students and stately boosters alike. But nobody will care if he doesn’t deal with the lifeless elephant in the room belonging to (Chip) Kelly.”

Recruiting update

Who’s winning California? Rivals analysts Mike Farrell and Adam Gorney assessed four recruiting cycles and determined Oregon has fared the best in the talent-rich state. “The fact that the Ducks have more top 20 players than USC is actually astonishing.”

• Washington has extended a scholarship offer in basketball to J.T. Tuimoloau, who happens to be the No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in the country in the class of 2021. Yes, they’ve offered him a football ride, too, and are probably willing to offer a scholarship in whatever sport is necessary to land the mega-recruit from Eastside Catholic.

WRAPPING UP >> Utah hopes to begin the process of bringing athletes back to campus in early June... Arizona State is scheduled to be the second Pac-12 team to play in the Raiders’ new stadium in Las Vegas after Cal opens its season there Aug. 29 against UNLV... Major news, courtesy of Tucson.com’s Michael Lev: The inaugural Pac-12 baseball tournament is set for Scottsdale next spring... Cal has a new softball coach, and she’s a familiar name for Cal softball fans: former shortstop Chelsea Spencer... Oregon State landed Talia Von Oelhoffen, one of the top-rated guard prospects in the country. (She had offers from Stanford and UConn, among others.),,, • Ceal Barry is retiring after 37 years at Colorado in various capacities. Her run as basketball coach included 12 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.