Pac-12 presidents are expected to significantly delay, but not outright cancel, the fall season in a meeting on Tuesday.
In an interview with local ESPN radio on Monday night, Utah Utes and Jazz team doctor Dave Petron shared a synopsis of the report he and his colleagues will share with campus leaders tomorrow. That interview is linked here.
“The document will contain criteria needed to move forward with competition," Petron said. "Two things that we really look at: COVID daily new cases per 100,000 in the community and the percent of positive tests in the community. In Utah the percent positive test right now is about 9-10 percent and that would put us in the red by category. Anything over 7.5 percent of positive tests is in the red and the recommendation if it was that high would be to do frequent testing, as frequently as daily. If those positive tests move down to the 5-7.5 percent range then the testing might be every other day.”
"At this point, we don't recommend any contact practices," Petron said later in the interview. "What would be required to really bring football forward is you would have to make sure it is controlled within the school and the community at large. You'll need access to a complete cardiac evaluation, I know you're aware cardiac issues are really coming to a forefront. Each school needs at least needs to be able to test something called troponin, which is a breakdown product of the heart, be able to do an EKG, an echo(cardiogram) and an MRI of the heart."
If and when the season is delayed, the Pac-12 could adopt the following schedule that would push the beginning of camps to late September, the first games to Oct. 24, but keep the Pac-12 Championship on Dec. 19.
FootballScoop also spoke with a Pac-12 source who confirmed that the Oct. 24 date has been shared within the conference.
Local restrictions in California has been a significant hindrance in meeting the traditional football timeline, as teams have been delayed getting coaches back in their offices and teams on the practice field.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.