Pac-12 postpones all sports until 2021

The Pac-12 CEO group voted unanimously Tuesday to postpone all sports and will look at returning to competition in 2021, the league announced Tuesday. It came just a few hours after the Big Ten postponed the start of fall sports.

This means not only will the Pac-12 not have college football this fall, but it will also delay the start of the 2020-21 college basketball season. The Pac-12 officially becomes the first Power 5 conference to delay the start of its hoops season.

For now, that means there will be no CBS Sports Classic matchup between the Kentucky Wildcats and UCLA Bruins, which was slated to take place in December.

“All of the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors understand the importance of this decision, and the disappointment it will create for our student-athletes, the coaches, support staff and all of our fans,” said Oregon Ducks president Michael H. Schill in a press release. “Ultimately, our decision was guided by science and a deep commitment to the health and welfare of student-athletes. We certainly hope that the Pac-12 will be able to return to competition in the New Year.”

“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “Our student-athletes, fans, staff and all those who love college sports would like to have seen the season played this calendar year as originally planned, and we know how disappointing this is.”

Now that a Power 5 league has delayed its college hoops season, we probably should brace for other leagues to follow suit at some point.