REPORTS: Pac 12 follows Big Ten lead — non-conference slate axed

LARAMIE -- Who was looking forward to seeing Wyoming and Utah renew a rivalry that started back in 1900?

Well, you are going to have to wait until the Cowboys pay a visit to Salt Lake City in 2025.

The Pac 12 will only play conference football games this fall -- if at all -- due to concerns with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to Stewart Mandel of The Athletic.

Thursday, the Big Ten announced the same decision, though the other three "Power 5" conferences -- the ACC, SEC and Big XII -- have yet to put a mandate on the upcoming 2020 season.

Wyoming's lone P5 game this season was supposed to come against the Utes. That game was scheduled for Sept. 19 inside War Memorial Stadium.

"While we support the Pac-12 Conference's decision today to only play conference games this fall in football, volleyball and soccer, we are disappointed for our student-athletes, coaches and fans," Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan posted on Twitter. "We know it is particularly difficult to miss the rivalry matchups with BYU in these sports, and we look forward to continuing those as soon as we are able ..."

It is unclear what the Mountain West will do in the future, but for now, numerous conference teams have lost dates against Big Ten and Pac 12 schools -- not to mention a big pay day -- in the process.

MW Commissioner Craig Thompson released a statement Friday, saying the league is continuing to monitor the situation.

"As has been the case since the onset of the pandemic, we are fully engaged with our membership and advisors on a nearly daily basis, exploring the myriad of potential scenarios around returning to competition," the statement reads. "We were aware of this possibility and will continue to evaluate the appropriate decisions and the proper timing going forward."

Hawaii was scheduled to play three teams from the Pac 12, while Colorado State, Utah State and UNLV were set to face two teams from that conference. Air Force was supposed to travel to Purdue and San Jose State was scheduled to play at Penn State in Week 3.

Here are the MW schools who were set to face teams from there conferences:

Aug. 29
California at UNLV
Hawaii at Arizona

Sept. 3
Washington State at Utah State

Sept. 5
Colorado at Colorado State
UCLA at Hawaii

Sept. 12
Arizona State at UNLV
Colorado State at Oregon State
Fresno State at Colorado
New Mexico at USC

Sept. 19
Air Force at Purdue
Hawaii at Oregon
San Jose State at Penn State
UCLA at San Diego State
Utah at Wyoming
Utah State at Washington