Pac-12 CEO Group To Make Decision On Football’s Possible Return To Play On Thursday, Sept. 24

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Pac-12 CEO Group met on Friday to discuss options and the possibility of returning to play.

The conference released a statement on Friday evening.

“The Pac-12 CEO Group had an informative and productive meeting earlier today. We plan to reconvene this coming Thursday, September 24 to make a decision regarding possible return to play prior to January 1,” the statement read. “The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports will continue to be our number one priority in all of our decision making.”

The Pac-12 CEO Group will reconvene on Thursday, September 24 to make a decision regarding the possible return to play.#GoUtes @kslsports https://t.co/jA44fkIduN

— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) September 19, 2020

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for the conference that started on Wednesday when the Big Ten decided to start their football season on the weekend of October 24. The Pac-12 released a statement saying that they were waiting on approval from public health officials in California and Oregon. After that, California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott telling him that their guidelines do not prevent the four conference programs in California (USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal) from holding practice.

Although, the restrictions were against contact practices. The state of California is now leaving it up to county health officials. USC and UCLA received the green light. Stanford and Cal will take a couple of days to get clearance. Now, Oregon Governor Kate Brown granted exemption to both Oregon and Oregon State as long as the state receives written protocol from the Pac-12.

Reports indicated that the Pac-12 Football Working Group met on Thursday and said that most programs need around 6 weeks to prepare for the season. That was possible as long as they started practice on Monday, September 21. That would make it possible to start the season on October 31. With the CEO Group not meeting until the 24th of September, it will be likely a November 7 start to the season as long as the group votes to start the season in the fall.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.