Pac-12 Conference: Teams unable to play because of COVID-19 outbreak will have to forfeit

The Pac-12 Conference formally announced Thursday that its league-wide modification to forfeiture rules put in place last year due to COVID-19 would no longer apply.

This means a team unable to play a conference game this season because of an outbreak will have to forfeit rather than have the matchup declared a no-contest.

“Following consultation with the Pac-12 Athletic Directors Committee, the Pac-12 has determined that its prior longstanding game forfeiture rule … that was temporarily modified for this past season due to COVID-19, shall once again be applied for this coming athletic season,” the league said in a statement. “In accordance with that rule, if an institution is unable to play a contest through its own fault, it shall forfeit such contest to its opponent.

© The Associated Press FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2019, file photo, the Pac-12 logo is displayed on the field at Sun Devil Stadium during an NCAA college football game between Arizona State and Kent State in Tempe, Ariz. The Pac-12 hired sports entertainment executive George Kliavkoff to be the conference's next commissioner on Thursday, May 13, 2021, replacing Larry Scott with a person with a similar resume short on college sports experience. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)

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"Any forfeited contest shall be regarded as a conference loss for the team making the forfeit and a conference win for its opponent. The Pac-12 rule provides the Commissioner with discretion to determine whether an institution is at fault or primarily at fault for an inability to play a contest based on the facts of the situation.”

Though the league statement doesn’t say so specifically, the message to teams is clear – get vaccinated or risk forfeiting games. With the return of full schedules across college athletics this season, there will be less flexibility for schools and conferences to reschedule contests if a rash of positive test occurs within a particular program.

The Pac-12 is the first major conference to formally announce such a policy, but it is unlikely to be the last. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said last month at the league’s football media days that games this season would not be rescheduled, strongly suggesting forfeits were possible, though the conference has yet to make that official.

"That means your team needs to be healthy to compete," Sankey said. "If not, that game won't be rescheduled. And thus, to dispose of the game, the forfeit word comes up at this point."

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips wasn’t quite as strident at his league’s media days a couple of weeks ago, saying conference officials wanted to gather more data before formalizing such a policy, but he did say teams were strongly encouraged to get vaccinated.

“I think there’s more information that we’re going to be able to gather,” Phillips said. “I think we’ll understand the variant a little bit. It’s really the recommendation of our medical group, along with our ADs and our presidents. So, there’s direct alignment, at least this week, we didn’t need to make that kind of statement. It will be forthcoming and we certainly will be transparent when that decision is made and we’ll let everybody know.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pac-12 Conference: Teams unable to play because of COVID-19 outbreak will have to forfeit