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Pac-12 to play conference-only schedule in 2020

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Pac-12 announced Friday that fall sports including football, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball will play conference-only schedules.

The conference is also delaying the start of mandatory athletic activities "until health and safety indicators ... (provide) sufficient positive data to enable a move to a second phase of return-to-play activities."

"The health and safety of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports continues to be our No. 1 priority," commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "Our decisions have and will be guided by science and data, and based upon the trends and indicators over the past days, it has become clear that we need to provide ourselves with maximum flexibility to schedule, and to delay any movement to the next phase."

The Pac-12 said it has developed different scheduling models for the fall, including conference-only slates and delayed starts to the season. One of those models involves moving the football season to spring 2021, Scott said last week. Details on conference-only schedules will be released July 31 at the latest.

In June, 30 UCLA football players outlined their demands to the school to ensure the safety of student-athletes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including oversight from a third-party health official.

On Thursday, the Big Ten canceled non-conference games in fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ACC is reportedly expected to follow suit.

The Ivy League, meanwhile, postponed all sports activities until January at the earliest.

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