Pac-12 cancels basketball games through end of 2020

The Pac-12 will consider a return to play in January 2021 after unanimously voting to postpone college basketball - and all sports competition - through the end of the calendar year, the conference announced Tuesday.

"The health, safety, and well-being of our student-athletes and all those connected to Pac-12 sports has been our No. 1 priority since the start of this current crisis," commissioner Larry Scott said. "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 Pac-12 becomes the first college basketball conference to postpone the start of its season because of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to delay play essentially eliminates the Pac-12's non-conference schedule.

Other college basketball power conferences aren't expected to hasten their decisions on whether to play non-conference games in response to the Pac-12's announcement, sources told CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

Student-athletes impacted by the postponement will still have their scholarships guaranteed. The Pac-12 is also lobbying the NCAA to grant student-athletes who decide to opt out of playing this season an extra year of eligibility.