ACC Delays Decision on 2020 Fall Sports

While the Big Ten & Pac-12 have already decided to move to a conference-only 2020 fall schedule, ACC Commissioner John Swofford isn't quite ready to make the same decision.

After electing to delay competition of Fall Olympic Sports to September 1 earlier this week, it seems that the Atlantic Coast Conference isn't quite ready to pull the trigger on moving to a conference-only schedule just yet.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement Friday that the conference would not make a decision on if they would strictly play a conference-only slate games for sports in the fall until "late July".

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators remains the ACC’s top priority. As we continue to work on the best possible path forward for the return of competition, we will do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities’ academic missions. Over the last few months, our conference has prepared numerous scenarios related to the fall athletics season. The league membership and our medical advisory group will make every effort to be as prepared as possible during these unprecedented times, and we anticipate a decision by our Board of Directors in late July.”

- ACC Commissioner John Swofford

While it makes sense that the conference wants to weigh all their options first before making a decision, recent news around collegiate athletics suggests they are merely delaying the inevitable.

Related: What a Conference-Only 2020 Football Season Would Look Like for Louisville

The Big Ten has already announced that they will be moving to a conference-only schedule for fall sports in 2020, with the Pac-12 following suit. Meanwhile, the Ivy League has postponed all 2020 fall sports altogether.

Time will tell what the decision the ACC comes to and when, but the dominoes are already starting to fall around them.

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