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UCLA Football: Pac-12 Conference Announces Scheduling Protocols

By Jason Kinander

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott at the pre-game press conference before the Pac-12 Championship football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Utah Utes at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 06: Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott at the pre-game press conference before the Pac-12 Championship football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Utah Utes at Levi's Stadium on December 6, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. The Oregon Ducks won 37-15. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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With a little over two weeks until UCLA Football returns to the field, the Pac-12 conference has announced its scheduling protocols for the football season.

UCLA Football will finally return to the field at the beginning of November to take part in a six-game regular season conference-only slate.

Given the short season, the Pac-12 announced on Monday their scheduling protocols for the football season, including plans of action for conference tiebreakers and game cancellations.

Of the most notable of the protocols is a new rule for the 2020 season, entailing that teams only need 53 available scholarship players, a large dropoff from the usual maximum allotment of 85. Pac-12 teams must submit a list of players available before each game, which is standard protocol.

The most notable omission in the list of protocols is the conference’s plan of action in case of a COVID-related cancellation. The schedule is a tight six-week format, with no bye weeks, including the conference championship, which is scheduled for the seventh week of the season.

In other words, the Pac-12 has its fingers crossed that everything will go perfectly this season, something that other conferences have had a problem with. The Big-12 and ACC have seen a number of game cancellations, as has the SEC, with last week’s outbreak at the University of Florida.

The final major note in the list of protocols is that the Pac-12 Championship game matchup will be determined by the two teams with the top winning percentages, meaning that two teams in the same divison could end up facing off.

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While there is still a little bit of time before the Pac-12 will return to the field, the conference and teams alike will certainly have their fingers crossed for an issue-free lead up to the season, a season that looked unlikely all the way up to last month.