Notre Dame President: 'I Hope We'll Have Football' This Fall

Although Notre Dame has shifted its academic calendar, it remains uncertain of the football program's schedule.

The university announced Monday that it plans to start its fall semester two weeks early and end it at Thanksgiving break. Despite this, Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins said he doesn't know if football will return this fall.

"It's not just our decision," Jenkins told The Today Show. It's the decision of all institutions in Division 1 across the nation, so we're going to talk to all of them and we'll see what is safe, what is possible. 

"I hope we'll have sports, I hope we'll have football. We'll just have to see."

South Carolina also decided this week that it will send students home before Thanksgiving and conduct finals online, and other schools are expected to restructure their calendars. The plan keeps students off-campus at the start of the flu season and what could possibly be a second spike in COVID-19 cases.

Jenkins said Notre Dame expects to see extensive testing on campus and asking students to wear masks and practice social distancing when they return to school.

However, if students leave campus at Thanksgiving break, will the football players and other athletes be required to stay for games? College football's regular season wraps up on Thanksgiving weekend for most teams, but then some schools move on to conference championships and the bowl season.

 Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde explored how changes in academic calendars could see a shift in winter athletics. While college football continues to mull its options, Forde reports college basketball could see a delayed start to a conference-only schedule, coming potentially as late as January. 

The NCAA canceled all winter and spring sports on March 12 amid the COVID-19 crisis. No formal announcement has been made regarding the 2020-21 sports calendar.