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COVID-19

Season ticket holders at Washington State offered three options in case football season is canceled, altered

Washington State fans hold a school flag during the second half of a game against Colorado in Pullman,  Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. (Young Kwak / AP)

Even as Washington State plans for a normal, 12-game football schedule this fall, the Cougars have outlined strategies for their season ticket holders in case the season is altered or scrapped altogether because of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the school’s ticketing website posted a message to its season ticket holders titled “2020 football policy,” offering three plans if the season is somehow impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Ticket holders have the option to donate their 2020 football season tickets and parking payments to the school as a gift. The school noted that such donations to the Cougar Athletic Fund would become tax deductible and acknowledged with a gift receipt.

The second option is to credit football season tickets, parking payments and contributions to the CAF to the 2021 football season. WSU’s ticket prices for the 2021 season will be the same as those in 2020.

The third option for WSU season ticket holders is a refund.

If the fall season is not canceled, but shortened, or if spectator limitations are introduced, WSU will prorate the value of season tickets accordingly. The messaging also made a point to note that if the school doesn’t receive a response from season ticket holders within two weeks of an announcement of the impacted 2020 season, their season ticket and parking payment would be treated as a donation to the CAF.

Though it’s likely a coincidence, the school’s ticketing announcement comes a day after the California State University system announced it would be reverting to mostly online courses this fall, potentially harming the five football-playing members that fall under the CSU tree: San Diego State, Fresno State and San Jose State of the Mountain West, along with Cal Poly and Sacramento State of the Big Sky Conference.

According to Stadium.com’s Brett McMurphy, the University of California system, which includes football-playing members UCLA, Cal and UC Davis, also plans on only a partial reopen this fall. The Cougars are scheduled to host the Golden Bears on Oct. 3 and are set to visit the Bruins on Nov. 14.

While NCAA President Mark Emmert and others have been firm in their stance that fall sports won’t be feasible without the general student population returning to campus, schools are still in the process of sorting out how a partial reopen would impact football.