NCAA Committee Passes Six-Week Football Preseason Plan
The 2020 college football season took a major step toward an on-time start on Thursday when the NCAA's College Football Oversight Committee passed a six-week plan that would allow football activities to resume in mid-July.
According to published reports, the four-phase plan will allow coaches to begin having contact with their players on July 13, with training camps beginning on Aug. 7.
There are still details to be worked out, such as testing for COVID-19 and whether coaches will be required to wear masks on the sidelines during games. The issue of allowing fans in the stands, even on a limited basis, was also not addressed.
But if approved by the NCAA Council, which is scheduled to meet on June 17, the framework will be in place for the first games to be played as scheduled over Labor Day weekend.
Here is the 2020 football preseason calendar as proposed Thursday:
DATE | ACTIVITY | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|
Now | Voluntary workouts | Virtual non-contact activities |
July 13 | Team workouts | weight training, conditioning, film review with coaches, eight hours per week |
July 24 | Walkthroughs and team meetings | 20 hours per week allowed |
August 7 | Practice | Preseason practice with contact |
“This is the culmination of a significant amount of collaboration in our effort to find the best solution for Division I football institutions,” said West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons, chair of the committee. “Our student-athletes, conference commissioners, coaches and health and safety professionals helped mold the model we are proposing.”
NC State has already opened its training facilities -- the Murphy Center, football practice fields including the Close-King Indoor Facility, Reynolds Coliseum and the Dail Basketball Complex -- to members of the football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams to resume their offseason training programs.
Athletes are required to be separated into small groups within their respective sports to ensure the proper distancing and other safety measures. On or about June 20, returning and incoming football players that have been cleared by the medical staff will be allowed to return to student housing.
The Wolfpack is scheduled to begin the 2020 season at Louisville on Thursday night, Sept. 3.
"First and foremost, the overall safety and health of our student-athletes will always be our first consideration" State athletic director Boo Corrigan said in a statement announcing his school's limited re-opening plan.
The NCAA agrees.
Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger reports that the implementation of the plan and the opening of the season are contingent on no further COVID-19 outbreaks taking place.
If a second wave were to come, the plan is designed to allow for schools to make their own decisions about continuing training and practice or if severe enough, suspending their season until it is deemed safe to resume.
