Pac-12 Requires COVID Vax To Attend Media Day, So Wazzu Coach Won’t Be There

This year’s Pac-12 Media Day is being held in Hollywood, but the in-person event will be without one of its leading men. On Wednesday afternoon, Washington State head football coach Nick Rolovich announced that, in lieu of getting a COVID-19 vaccine, he plans to skip next week’s event.

In a statement released to his Twitter account, Rolovich said he would attend Media Day remotely: “As the Pac-12 Conference has required that all in-person participants at next week’s Pac-12 football media day be fully vaccinated I will participate remotely and look forward to talking about our football team and the incredible young men in our program. I have elected not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine for reasons which will remain private. While I have made my own decision I respect that every individual — including our coaches, staff and student-athletes — can make his or her own decision regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Before taking the reins at Wazzu, Rolovich spent four seasons as Hawaii’s head coach. One of his assistants with the Rainbow Warriors, Billy Ray Stutzmann, was among the first to publicly support Rolovich’s decision:

We’ll said Coach. Everyone is entitled to their privacy & their own personal opinion. Let’s just play football.

— Billy Ray Stutzmann (@BRayStutzmann) July 21, 2021

Rolovich is set to begin his second season as head coach of the Cougars. Due to the pandemic, Washington State played only four games last fall and won just one.