Protest halts start of Cal-USC Pac-12 game

A football game unfolded around a protest Saturday afternoon in a PAC-12 contest.

Host California, entertaining rival and 24th-ranked USC, saw the game inside California Memorial Stadium on its Berkeley campus unable to start on time after a group of protestors made their way onto the playing field and seated themselves around midfield and facing both sidelines.

The game was being televised live on the league's PAC-12 Network, and FoxSports also shared video footage of the protestors.

Multiple social media posts from reporters on hand at the game noted that the protest was organized as an effort to urge Cal administrative officials to reinstate professor Ivonne del Valle, a colonial studies professor who months ago was placed on administrative leave.

The contest, which was scheduled to kick off around 1 p.m. PST, instead was started almost 15 minutes late.

The Trojans, who have lost back-to-back games and spent much of this week without head coach Lincoln Riley due to undisclosed illness, led 17-14 to start the second quarter.