NCAA lifts on-campus training ban effective June 1

A big step back towards college sports has been made

There appears to be even more light at the end of the non-sports tunnel.

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde has confirmed a report by Yahoo's Pete Thamel that the NCAA has lifted its nationwide ban regarding on-campus training. Read more from Forde and SI's Ross Dellenger by CLICKING HERE.

Starting June 1, players are allowed to participate in voluntary workouts. Just because schools can return to train though doesn't mean things will be exactly back to normal. Plus, there are also hurdles in regards to what individual teams and conferences are facing. Forde and Dellenger describe the unique circumstances this way in their piece:

And, yes, for the first couple of weeks, there are no footballs allowed. “They are going to want to pick up the ball, but look at re-socialization guidelines: you want to avoid shared equipment in the first phase,” says Mary McLendon, an associate athletic director at Mississippi State overseeing the school’s reopening. Programs plan to follow CDC and NCAA guidelines, phasing in workouts slowly and keeping most to very small groups.

Every school—and every conference—isn’t in the same boat. Each state is under different stages of reopening, including some that haven’t even started the process. At least 18 states aren’t open at all or are in the early stages of opening, and dozens more are at completely different steps in the process—from Georgia, where gyms and salons are open, to Kentucky, which has only opened select essential businesses.

In addition to state laws, there are conference bans to overcome in some leagues. That’s the case in the SEC, where leaders are expected to discuss the topic at a meeting Friday.

Still, one more barrier that has been blocking a return to sports is now out of the way.