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Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported Thursday morning that the Atlantic Coast Conference is expected to announce that all competitions by member institutions, whether games or exhibitions, will not be permitted until Sept. 1. Practices will still be permitted to go on.
The ACC is expected to announce today that it will not allow fall sport competitions (games/exhibitions) until at least Sept. 1, sources tell @TheAthleticCFB. That would affect sports like soccer, field hockey, etc.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) July 9, 2020
Practices for all sports would still be allowed in August.
While this won’t have an effect on revenue sports (the first football game by ACC member institutions is scheduled for Sept. 2 between Louisville and NC State), non-revenue sports that traditionally start in August like soccer, field hockey, cross country and volleyball will have the starts to their season delayed, as historically (and we have to rely on history because BC does not have any non-revenue sports schedules posted for the fall as of press time) their seasons start in August.
While this appears to be a minor setback (and it buys the conference a little time) it’s hard not to think that we’re right up against it right now. Another delay could affect how non-revenue programs meet their sponsorship requirements, and another delay would have an effect on football, which could have a number of ramifications on its own.