The Pac-12 officially decided to postpone fall sports on Tuesday afternoon. That means football will not be played in the conference this fall.

In an official statement released on Tuesday afternoon, the conference said it would consider resuming as early as Jan. 1, 2021, if the COVID-19 pandemic improves.

As you can see below, Oregon president Michael H. Schill and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott issued statements saying the postponement is due to an abundance of caution for athlete health:

“All of the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors understand the importance of this decision, and the disappointment it will create for our student-athletes, the coaches, support staff and all of our fans,” said Michael H. Schill, president of the University of Oregon. “Ultimately, our decision was guided by science and a deep commitment to the health and welfare of student-athletes. We certainly hope that the Pac-12 will be able to return to competition in the New Year.”

“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our number one priority since the start of this current crisis,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.  “Our student-athletes, fans, staff and all those who love college sports would like to have seen the season played this calendar year as originally planned, and we know how disappointing this is.”

The SEC, ACC and Big 12 are still considering playing this fall, so we’ll see what happens moving forward.

For now, though, it seems we won’t see Big Ten or Pac-12 squads on the field until at least 2021.