On Friday, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott joined Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to update the status of Pac-12 sports as the conference continues to react to the Covid-19 pandemic in regards to rescheduling Fall football and basketball season and when they may begin. Listen to the full conversation below and see updates on where sports stand as news continues to develop from around the country.
Of note, the Pac-12 Commissioner said how last week's news about pairing with Quidel for athlete testing gives a sense of optimism that the conference can convince medical officials that sports can resume later this Fall. Scott said that when the decision was made to postpone the Fall football and basketball seasons, he did not try to convince University Presidents otherwise to continue with sports seasons regardless of Covid-19 conditions. In regards to salary reductions, he said that in response to the pandemic, those with the conference making $100,000 or more took a reduction between 5-12 percent, and that he was at the "higher end" of that scale.
Did Larry Scott regret pushing the football season back to January so early, so long before the football season was to begin? "No," the Pac-12 Commissioner said on Friday, adding that conversations have begun with schools about potentially starting a season prior to January. In regards to the basketball season, Scott said, "Basketball would be upon us sooner...I'm hopeful we can start around the same time as the rest of the country." He noted that could be sometime in late November.
"There will be a limit on how many games we can play in the next calendar year," Scott said on Friday, adding that the health concerns to football players factors into that number. Check out the full interview above for additional notes from the Commissioner including Bowl Games, the testing agreement timing, and much more!