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Pac-12 extends suspension of athletics-related activities to May 31

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham sings "Utah Man" with the team, after the Utes were defeated 38-10, in the Alamo Bowl, between the Utes and the Texas Longhorns, in San Antonio, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019.

  | March 30, 2020, 5:07 p.m.
| Updated: 6:27 p.m.

On March 14, the Pac-12 announced an indefinite suspension of all athletics-related activities through Sunday.

With that mandate having expired, the league announced Monday it was extending the suspension through May 31.

The Pac-12 offered specific guidelines, which are below.

  • No organized, in-person team activities of any type.

  • No in-person voluntary workouts, film study sessions, meetings, technique drills or practices of any type.

  • Virtual or online supervised voluntary workouts and skill instruction are not permitted, regardless of location.

  • Virtual group activities, including film study, are permitted two hours per week for football and four hours per week for all other sports. We are appealing to the NCAA to increase the two-hour football limit in the near future.

  • Coaches can recommend written, self-directed workout plans, and taped demonstration videos on workout plans are allowed in order to demonstrate proper form and technique.

  • In-person, on-campus nutrition may be provided in circumstances where student-athletes are unable to leave campus, and off-campus nutrition is limited to distribution of products normally available on campus.

  • It is fully permissible to provide non-athletically related support to student-athletes, including sports medicine treatments, physical therapy and rehabilitation; academic support; and mental health and wellness support.

  • It is permissible for institutions to provide off-campus student-athletes with apparel and personal equipment that is regularly available to student-athletes when they are on campus for conditioning workouts. It is not permissible to rent, purchase or arrange for conditioning or strength training equipment or machines.

No organized, in-person team activities until at least June 1 lends credence to the notion that the 2020 football season could be in jeopardy, at least for an on-time start to training camp.

The University of Utah was able to get through three spring football practices, but the remaining 12 were put on hold in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham said on a conference call with beat reporters last week he expected to get those sessions back, whether it be as part of the summer program or during training camp.

Whittingham also willingly admitted that the 2020 season could be in jeopardy. The Utes are scheduled to open the season on Sept. 3 vs. BYU. A training camp start date is unknown, but with Sept. 3 as the opener, training camp would begin in late July or early August.

Later Monday morning, the school announced that all summer courses will be shifting online. That move indicates no students will be on campus until at least Aug. 1, the day after the final exam period for semester-length classes ends.