Coronavirus pandemic forces Mountain West Conference to go to a virtual Media Days

The Mountain West Conference has the “honor” of being the first league to have its football gabfest affected. They certainly, though, won’t be the last.

The Mountain West Conference had originally been scheduled to hold its Football Media Days at under-construction SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The event was to take place over two days, July 16-17.

Yesterday, however, it was reported that a third construction had tested positive for the coronavirus. Coincidence or not, the Mountain West Conference on Wednesday announced that its Media Days will now be virtual instead of in-person.

Further details will be released at a later time.

From the conference’s release:

After discussions with our membership, TV partners, members of the media and SoFi Stadium, the Mountain West will move its 2020 Football Media Days scheduled for July 16-17 to a virtual program on a date to be determined. The new innovative format will provide the opportunity for the promotion of a broader range of student-athletes, while also allowing media to participate who otherwise would not have been able to attend the event in-person. The later virtual program date will also permit maximum flexibility for MW football programs this summer.

SoFi Stadium, incidentally, is set to play host to a new college football bowl game this season.

As for other FBS conference’s Media Days? Those are still to be determined. Below, though, are the currently-scheduled for each FBS league:

• AAC -- July 13-14, Newport, Rhode Island
• ACC -- July 22-23, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Big Ten -- July 22-23, Chicago, Ilinois
• Big 12 -- July 20-21, Arlington, Texas
• Conference USA -- July 22-23, Frisco, Texas
• MAC -- July 20-21, Detroit, Michigan
• Pac-12 -- July 29, Los Angeles, California
• SEC -- July 13-16, Atlanta, Georgia
• Sun Belt -- July 28-29, New Orleans, Louisiana