Pac-12 should reverse course and allow non-conference football matches

The Pac-12 is heading for a significant policy reversal after athletic directors this week agreed to allow non-conference games if a championship game is called off due to COVID-19 concerns, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

However, the change requires approval from presidents and chancellors, who previously banned non-conference games for the 2020 season.

Presidents discussed the issue on Tuesday, sources said, but it is not known whether a vote was taken.

The ability to play non-conference games would help fill vacancies if an odd number of teams are healthy enough to compete in any given week.

The Pac-12 have already called off five games, largely due to outbreaks in Utah and Arizona State.

“That doesn’t mean we’ll play one,” a source said of the no-conference option. “We just want that flexibility.”

Currently, there is none.

Most teams were set to open the season on Oct.31, but as several California schools needed more time, presidents set Nov. 7 as a conference-wide restart date – two weeks later than the Big Ten and even the Mountain West.

The desire for unity culminated in a master plan that featured six games in six weeks leading up to the conference championship game on December 18.

In other words: the only window for makeup dates is December 19 – the day after the championship.

Add in the ban on non-conference games, and precious Saturdays have the potential to slip away if an opponent can’t play.

“It’s stressful if you don’t have anyone,” a source said. “What if three teams are absent?”

Or what a team is left out, which could be the case this week.

Colorado are currently in limbo after their ASU game was canceled. If the other five clashes are played out as planned, the Buffaloes would be healthy but would have no opponents.

Unless they can get out of the conference.

“It’s definitely on the table,” a source said, “especially where it makes geographic or historical sense.”

On top of the loss of competition, a week of inactivity for any team would likely mean loss of revenue for the conference.

Each game show on ESPN or Fox is worth about $ 5 million – or about $ 425,000 per school.

The amount paid for a non-conference game may vary, but it would be substantial for sports departments feeling the impact of the shortened season and lack of ticket sales.

“We want maximum flexibility for our schools,” said a source, who added that athletic directors were united on the issue. “The group has been very supportive.”

Will their bosses agree?

Along with their Big Ten peers, the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors voted in early July to play a conference-only season.

At the time, they feared that differences in health and safety standards between conferences could put the Pac-12 teams at risk if adversaries did not have adequate protocols in place.

These differences remain: each conference has its own standards.

However, access to daily antigen testing, which was not scheduled in July, significantly reduces the risk.

In addition, there are no known cases – anywhere – of field transmission of the virus, according to Dr. Allen Sills, chief medical officer of the NFL.

“We haven’t seen any evidence of player-to-player transmission on the pitch, either during games or practice, which I think is an important and powerful statement,” Sills told Sports Illustrated last week. .

“And it also confirms what other sports leagues have found in the world. We communicate regularly with World Rugby, Australian Football, European Football Leagues.

“To date, no one has documented a case of player-to-player transmission in a sports environment on the pitch.”

The no-conference option, however, could add a layer of complexity to the Pac-12 schedule.

For example, what if Colorado agreed to play a game without a conference, but a second Pac-12 game was called off the next day – leaving the healthy team without an opponent.

To take this possibility into account, according to sources, stipulations could be integrated into the agreements allowing the Pac-12 teams to withdraw without penalty.

Non-conference games aren’t the only topic of discussion between athletic directors and the conference office, sources say.

They’re also looking at how the Pac-12 will prioritize matches if an odd number of teams need matches.

Again, the problem is best expressed with an example: