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ACC Announces COVID Forfeiture Policy for 2021 Football Season

The Atlantic Coast Conference will no longer reschedule games due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

(Photo via Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Atlantic Coast Conference announced their COVID-19 Game Rescheduling Policy regarding the upcoming football season on Thursday, and it carries some significant repercussions should you have an in-season outbreak of the virus.

According to the league, if a conference game is unable to be played on its originally scheduled date due to an "insufficient number of available players related to COVID-19" by a team, then that team will forfeit and assigned a loss in conference standings. The opponent will also be assigned a victory in conference standings, and the game with not be rescheduled.

If both teams are unable to play a conference game due to an insufficient numbers of players due to COVID-19, both teams will be given a forfeit and loss in conference standings. The ACC did not offer a specific threshold when it comes to identifying the "insufficient number of available players".

The league also updated their COVID-19 Medical Advisory Group Report, with a few changes for the upcoming 2021-22 athletics year. The most notable comes from the testing standards set forth.

Teams at an 85.0 percent vaccination rate must test unvaccinated individuals once per week, whereas those below that must test unvaccinated individuals three times per week. Fully vaccinated individuals are not required to undergo testing unless symptomatic. Louisville AD Vince Tyra stated earlier this week that the Cardinals are currently above the 90 percent vaccination threshold.

“The ACC’s Medical Advisory Group continues its tireless efforts to deliver meaningful protocols that will provide a healthy and safe environment for our student-athletes and teams,” Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “As a conference, we are extremely proud of the significant progress and overall high rates of vaccination among student-athletes, coaches and staff. The continued resilience, commitment and sacrifice by our student-athletes is inspiring, and we look forward to watching them compete at the highest level.” 

The ACC is far from the first Power Five conference to institute this type of policy for the 2021 college football season. Both the Big 12 and Pac-12 have announced similar policies within the last week.

Last season, Louisville football had to postpone their game vs. Virginia by one week due to in-house COVID issues. The Cardinals also had multiple players out vs. Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, but were able to play.

Louisville will kick off against Ole Miss in the annual Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game, down at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. Kickoff is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 6 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.

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