Local products Abe Lucas (72) and Josh Watson (65), along with the rest of the the Washington State University football team, won’t be playing this fall. (Washington State University photo)

Local products Abe Lucas (72) and Josh Watson (65), along with the rest of the the Washington State University football team, won’t be playing this fall. (Washington State University photo)

POLL: What’s your take on the Pac-12 shutting down football?

Did the league do the right thing canceling fall football because of the coronavirus pandemic?

There will be no Apple Cup. At least not this fall.

Last week the Pac-12 made the call college football fans were dreading when the conference announced it was shutting down all fall athletic competition, including football, because of concerns about the potential spread of the coronavirus.

This means the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars will not take the field against one another — or any other competition — this year. Archbishop Murphy High School graduate Abe Lucas and Cascade High School grad Josh Watson will not be reprising their role as the right side of the Cougar offensive line. Archbishop Murphy grad Kyler Gordon will not be fighting for a starting spot in the Husky secondary.

The decision to shut down athletics until at least the beginning of the new year was unanimous among the Pac-12’s member institutions, and football coaches like Washington’s Jimmy Lake expressed their full support for the decision.

However, the decision about whether to play college football is far from unanimous nationwide.

The country’s Power Five conferences — the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big-12, SEC and ACC — are split almost down the middle. The Big Ten joined the Pac-12 in announcing the cancellation of fall football last Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Big-12, SEC and ACC are planning to forge ahead with their football seasons for now, playing schedules strictly within conference.

What the differing routes illustrate are the differing opinions on the danger of the coronavirus, as well as differing opinions on the financial necessity of conducting football seasons. The leagues are in disagreement on whether they have the capability to keep players in a high-contact sport safe — including measures like regular testing and contact tracing — from a virus that according to the Centers for Disease Control has already claimed 168,000 lives in the United States, and that may have led to the development of myocarditis in the heart of at least five Big Ten athletes. In the background of these disagreements is the fact that football is the big money maker for most college athletic departments and helps fund other sports.

What this all ultimately means is yet to be determined. There are suggestions that the Pac-12 may attempt to play football in the spring, similar to the way the WIAA has moved the state’s high school football season to March and April. Meanwhile, the conferences that are intending to play this fall acknowledge that changes in the situation, such as outbreaks among the teams, could force them to reconsider their plans.

So what do you think? Do you think the Pac-12 made the right decision in canceling its football season, at least for now? Let us know by voting in this week’s Seattle Sidelines poll:


Talk to us

More in Sports

The Everett Elite Flag Football 14-under team practices Sunday morning at Harbour Pointe Middle School in Mukilteo, Washington on January 16, 2022. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Community roundup: 3 Jackson grads to D-I baseball tournament

Plus, Jayden White is headed back to the NCAA track and field nationals, the Silvertips sign their first-round picks and more.

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for May 22-28

The Athlete of the Week nominees for May 22-28 Voting closes at… Continue reading

Washington's Sami Reynolds runs the bases against McNeese during an NCAA softball game on Saturday, May 20, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
Local softball stars Reynolds, Mahler set for WCWS

Washington’s Sami Reynolds (Snohomish) and Stanford’s River Mahler (Monroe) each play prominent roles on their Pac-12 teams.

The Mariners’ Cal Raleigh smiles as a teammate throws bubblegum at him during an interview after Raleigh hit a single to drive in the winning run against the Yankees during the 10th inning of a game Wednesday in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Raleigh’s RBI single in 10th gives M’s 1-0 win over Yankees

George Kirby pitches one of the best games of his young career with eight shutout innings in Seattle’s 1-0 win.

X
AquaSox top Hops on wild pitch in 11th inning

Everett edges Hillsboro 3-2 in a game with strong pitching on both sides.

Alberto Rodriguez.
Rodriguez puts on power display, leads AquaSox to series win

The 22-year-old outfielder mashed 11 extra-base hits, including six home runs, as Everett took five of seven from Eugene.

Daniel Kim, left, and Ben Borgida, right, chat between holes during the Snohomish County Amateur golf tournament at the Everett Golf and Country Club in Everett, Washington on Monday, May 29, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Kim soars to 4-shot win in 92nd Snohomish County Amateur

The WSU freshman and Kamiak graduate’s 12-under final total was the historic tournament’s lowest since at least 2010.

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge gestures after hitting a solo home-run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Caean Couto)
Judge strikes again, Mariners lose to Yankees

Seattle falls 10-2 for a second consecutive lopsided loss.

Cooper Cummings from the United States celebrates after winning a men's downhill during the Cheese Rolling contest at Cooper's Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, Monday May 29, 2023. The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event where participants race down the 200-yard (180 m) long hill chasing a wheel of double gloucester cheese. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arlington High School grad is the big cheese after winning UK race

Cooper Cummings, who grew up in Lake Stevens, defeated a world record-holder in Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake.

Most Read