9/28/2020 football Edit

Robbins, Arizona 'proponent' of having fans at games this season

Matt Moreno • GOAZCATS

Senior Editor

Matt Moreno is the senior editor at GOAZCATS.com. He joined the staff in August of 2011 and began as senior recruiting editor with the site before becoming senior editor in June of 2014.

No team in the Pac-12 will have fans in the stands until 2021. It's something that could last into the new year according to Arizona's athletic director Dave Heeke.

If it was up to UA that wouldn't be the case.

Heeke said last week, after the Pac-12 announced its decision to bring back football plus men's and women's basketball this fall, that he was in favor of the conference having fans in the stands where local governments allowed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

While Heeke has some say in what goes on with his athletic department, the ultimate decision is more directly impacted by UA's president, Robert C. Robbins. He's part of the Pac-12 CEO Group that ultimately decided to reverse course just six weeks after the league opted to postpone all competition until at least January 2021.

Monday he updated the university on the latest numbers and information related to the coronavirus pandemic and was asked about upcoming fall sports season in the Pac-12. Robbins, who has courtside seats to UA basketball games, certainly is against fans gathering in large groups unsafely at bars, restaurants or home but he is someone who hoped to see at least some fans in the seats at Arizona Stadium and McKale Center this fall heading into the CEO group's decision.

Ultimately, the group that is made up of chancellors and presidents from around the league voted against having fans in attendance this fall. The league has preached unity throughout the process of building a fall season in the middle of a pandemic and that belief eventually won out.

"I was a proponent of having limited fans, but we all as a Pac-12 voted unanimously together to not allow fans into the stadium," Robbins said during a virtual press conference Monday.

So what was the biggest hangup? One state that is home to four of the 12 teams in the conference.

"The California schools just can't do it, and that's a third of the schools that we have in the Pac-12," he said. "I think for public health reasons and for solidarity in the Pac-12 Conference it was the right choice."

Leaders in the conference do plan to discuss the possibility of allowing fans in the league to attend games at the start of the new year, according to Heeke who said that "look in" by the conference leaders will happen before January. With Heeke and Robbins aligned, Arizona will certainly be one school in favor of allowing fans back at games and they aren't the only ones.

"There were certainly those (schools) interested in having fans," Heeke said Friday. "We all have been working on models, like all sport organizations around the country and really around the world, about how to safely engage fans into our games. Optimally we would like to do that.

" ... I was an advocate for fans, but I certainly respect the decision and understand where we're going."

Safety is key in adding fans to an already tricky situation for college athletic departments. Getting the football season was a challenge on its own, so safety will remain paramount as all the decision-makers look at the potential to add fans at some point in 2021.

"There's a lot on the line and we have to respect our local communities and what's happening, but I think we can do that," Heeke said. "So, I'm optimistic and I want to find ways where we can have our fans engaged in the games because they play such a vital role.

"We want them to be part of this, and we want them to watch the games and support our teams locally. We also know how important it is to the local economy and what's going on, but we have to do that the right way."

The Pac-12 football season is slated to begin the weekend of Nov. 6 while men's and women's basketball will open their seasons Nov. 25.

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