The Pac-12 announced Friday that fall sports will observe a conference-only schedule in 2020, following the announcements by other major conferences this week.<\/p>\n
The Pac-12\u2019s announcement comes on the heels of similar moves by the ACC and Big Ten<\/a>. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, less travel is hoped to be a factor that limits the risk of disease transmission as college sports continue.<\/p>\n The sports specifically covered by the announcement include football, men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer and women\u2019s volleyball. All athletic activities remain voluntary. Mandatory activities won\u2019t resume, \u201cuntil a series of health and safety indicators, which have recently trended in a negative direction, provided sufficient positive data to enable a move to a second phase of return-to-play activities.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our number one priority,\u201d Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott<\/strong> said in a press statement<\/a>. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Later in the evening, the conference announced that Scott had tested positive for COVID-19 and will be self-isolating.<\/p>\n Statement from the Pac-12 Conference (July 10, 2020): pic.twitter.com\/odEoOL20XO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 11, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n