In a sign of the times, the Pac-12's football coaches joined a Zoom call on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming season. The webinar was a way to replace the league's traditional Media Days, which are held on studio lots in the Los Angeles area.
Arizona Wildcats football head coach Kevin Sumlin tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Monday. Sumlin has entered the isolation period as the team prepares to begin full team practices starting Friday.
The coaches talked about early starts, Eddie Van Halen and the future of paying players. Here's a look at what they said:
Early-bird special
Set the alarm clocks and fire up the omelet stations and coffee makers. Arizona State's Nov. 7 game at USC will kick off at 9 a.m., Los Angeles time — 10 a.m. in Tucson.
The season-opening duel between the Trojans and Sun Devils, the top two teams in the Pac-12 South as voted by the league's media, will be USC's earliest kickoff since 1891. That year, USC — then known as the Methodists and lacking a head coach — faced Loyola at 9:30 a.m.
USC coach Clay Helton said the kickoff time is the least of his concerns.
“To have this opportunity, we’re all excited about it,” Helton said. “It wasn’t long ago we were watching other teams play and it hurts your soul. … The approach for us is to put the ball down. Put the ball down. We don’t care what day it is, what time it is, we just want to play the game we love.”
The Pac-12 is experimenting with its broadcast television windows this fall, in part because fans won't be attending games. The 9 a.m. starts should allow the beleaguered conference to display its best teams to a larger nationwide audience. The Pac-12 will need the attention if it hopes to place a team in the College Football Playoff, a feat accomplished just twice in the last six seasons.
“(ASU is) not only one of the better teams in our conference, but a great team over the national perspective,” Helton said. “That’s what you want. You want to be able to play on the biggest stage with the brightest lights, and to be able to have that national scene see us play right off the bat, you gotta take that and that’s an advantage for you.”
Not every Pac-12 coach is on board with 9 a.m. kickoffs.
“I think it’s early,” said Stanford’s David Shaw.
Shaw added: “College kids don’t go to bed at 9 o’clock at night; They just don’t and aren’t built that way. They need sleep and sleep enhances performance. … I’m not a fan.”
Remembering ‘one of the great ones’
The music world lost an icon on Tuesday, when guitarist Eddie Van Halen died following a long battle with cancer.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, who calls himself “a classic rocker,” began his portion of Wednesday’s webinar by paying tribute to Van Halen. He even wore a Van Halen T-shirt.
“A great rock-and-roller, one of my all-time favorites and he will be missed," Whittingham said. "That's first and foremost on my mind right now."
Whittingham saw Van Halen in concert a number of times. The Utes' coach calls him a “top-five guitarist of all time — maybe even top-three.”
Whittingham declared Jimi Hendrix “the king” of guitarists, with Eric Clapton, Van Halen and Jeff Beck following right behind.
Tributes poured out all day Tuesday and Wednesday. UA president Robert C. Robbins dug up his old lab coat, which had a picture of Van Halen’s face airbrushed on the back.
Eddie Van Halen’s songs created the soundtrack for a huge part of my life. Very sad to hear of his passing from cancer – he was an amazing talent and person. I had to dig out my old lab coat in remembrance. RIP EVH. pic.twitter.com/EuQCnKADFW
— Robert C. Robbins (@UArizonaPres) October 7, 2020
“Eddie Van Halen’s songs created the soundtrack for a huge part of my life,” Robbins tweeted. “Very sad to hear of his passing from cancer — he was an amazing talent and person.”
Stanford’s Shaw in favor of 'NLI' movement
Stanford head coach David Shaw looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.
In April, the NCAA's Board of Governors approved a way for student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness through third-party endorsement deals.
Shaw has kept close contact with friend and former Stanford teammate Cory Booker, now a United States senator from New Jersey, about the congressional hearings related to the NLI issue.
“My general feeling is that this is long overdue. It’s something that makes sense and, honestly, it sounds American,” Shaw said. “I have a name, I have an image, I have a likeness and I should be able to monetize that.”
The new rule would allow student-athletes to advertise products in exchange for money. Critics say that NLI payments could open a pandora's box of regulatory issues.
Shaw said Wednesday that NLI monetization should have some restrictions. For example, he believes the chances to make money in Los Angeles shouldn’t be used in a recruiting battle with Washington State or Oregon State.
“I don’t think we should use that to entice young people to come to our place for money,” said Shaw. “We should educate and advise our student-athletes once they’re on our campuses and help them make wise decisions, but we shouldn’t be involved in their decision-making process.”
