The CCCAA Board of Directors made a decision on Thursday to move to a contingency plan, which moves football back to January. The decision came on the heels a big spike in Coronavirus cases across the state.

The folks in California had seen the news coming for weeks when cases rose by leaps and bounds across the state. The CCCAA had set an earlier date of July 17, whereby they had to meet Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan. They opted to move ahead earlier rather than later, seeing no path to reaching the intended goals.

“We were very hopeful that we could go forth with the Conventional Plan,” said Jennifer Cardone, Interim Executive Director. “It’s the closest to what everyone is used to and provides for the least disruption to our student-athletes and colleges. Unfortunately, California’s reopening progress has slowed, and it’s become apparent that we would not be in position to put it into action on July 17.”

The CCCAA has 110-member colleges and approximately 24,000 student-athletes. The newest contingency plan would now have them moving all fall sports to a starting date in January, including football.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staffs are our top priorities,” Cardone said. “While the Contingency Plan has the most drastic changes, it’s also the one that provides us the best opportunity to return to competition.”

The programs would be eligible to start practicing on January 18, with the schedule reduced to 70% of its normal competition. The new opening date for football games would begin on February 13.