EUGENE — The journey to the “postponement” of Pac-12 football season until the spring was bending and bumpy, but the path forward is directionless.
What are thousands of athletes supposed to do for the next four-plus months without games? What is expected of them? What’s the status of their eligibility? What happens if there’s no sports in the spring either?
Those are just some of the myriad questions left unanswered in the wake of the conference’s decision earlier this week.
“The student-athletes are going to continue to receive their scholarship and support from their universities,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. “Each campus athletics director, athletic department, with coaches will decide exactly what that looks like but we are deeply committed to continue to support our student-athletes.
“(Football players will) be able to continue in the 20 hours that’s permissive, but I think all of our campuses and programs now need to go back and look at what’s in the best interest of the student-athletes in terms of supporting them.”
The NCAA Division I Council and Board of Governors are supposed to get around to providing long overdue clarity for athletes in fall sports during their next rounds of meetings and have indicated additional eligibility will be granted.
But how a spring football season would factor into that is unclear, particularly since it’s in the same academic year. How redshirts will work in a shortened spring or truncated fall are anyone’s guess. Scholarship counts for football are a complete unknown.
RELATED: Is a spring football season viable? Oregon’s Rob Mullens, Mario Cristobal weigh in
Coaches will chime in on all these issues, but they have no real say in it. The presidents and chancellors and occasionally athletic directors are the ones who determine policy.
“The reason that this takes place in universities is that our student-athletes are getting an education,” Oregon president and chair of the Pac-12 CEO group Michael Schill said. “This provides them with an opportunity to focus even more on the classwork during this period, get ahead and we will play again. We feel very strongly that we want to support our student-athletes and we want each one of them to graduate with a degree from each of our schools.”
For now, athletes are still permitted the amount dictated by the NCAA for individual workouts, training, film study and walk-throughs in each sport. How each school handles that in the interim is up to them.
RELATED: ‘No decisions have been made’ by Oregon players who could enter 2021 NFL Draft
Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said “many” of UO’s coaches made workouts optional after the Pac-12′s decision, and calendars going forward are to be determined. Ducks coach Mario Cristobal said players were still overwhelmingly taking part in workouts Wednesday and Thursday, but by Friday several posted photos showing they were no longer in town.
“We have kind of kept our schedule for this week,” Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith said. “That has not changed what we’re allowed to do. We have weight training going on in the morning, then we’re doing some position meetings and walk-throughs in the afternoon. I asked the team – and it was really tough on the team, obviously, when the news broke – but asked them what they wanted to do and they wanted to continue.”
Football coaches are used to preaching a one week at a time approach and routine. There’s supposed to be an opponent at the end of it, though, or at least a goal in mind.
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Now what? Vast questions remain after Pac-12 postpones sports until 2021 - OregonLive
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