UofL AD Vince Tyra Planning on 2020 Football Season Starting on Time

If Louisville's current phased plan to get student-athletes back on campus goes off without a hitch, Athletic Director Vince Tyra is fully planning on starting their football season as scheduled.

On Thursday, the University of Louisville announced that select football and men's & women's basketball student-athletes will begin to return to campus for volunteer physical activity under a phased plan that will begin on May 27.

With the aid of this newly instated plan, Athletic Director Vince Tyra is still planning on Louisville's 2020 college football season starting on time.

"We're certainly planning for it, just like we're planning for this (phased plan) today," Tyra said in a teleconference with reporters.

Athletic competitions have been suspended since May 17 due to health concerns from the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Tyra said that they had shooting for a plan to get student-athletes back on campus by June 1, and that the NCAA's vote to lift the ban on on-campus training allowed them to do so.

"Our view is we set deadlines and work hard to make sure we're well prepared for those dates," Tyra said. "We're still preparing and thinking abut football as if it's going to start on time. If we kick with NC State on time, we've got to be prepared to do so and have full practice ready by the end of July."

Louisville currently is set to begin the 2020 season against NC State at Cardinal Stadium on Sept. 3.

Notebook: Louisville student-athletes returning to campus in phases

Tyra and the rest of the administrative staff have had preliminary discussions about whether or not fans would be permitted in the stands if the season did start on time, but up to this point have focused primarily on developing the phased plan.

"We've spent an exhaustive amount of energy on this plan," Tyra said. "We've got time. I know (fans in stands) is a pressing topic to some, but not to me today."

Tyra would prefer uniformity when the green light is given to start the 2020 season, but can also envision a scenario where not every ACC member is 100% ready to go due to any number of reasons surrounding the virus. If that so happens to be the case, he believes the season will start regardless.

"If (uniformity) is not possible and it's not unanimous, then I don't see the tail wagging the dog. The dog will play on."

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