Start of 2020 Football Season 'A Moving Target'

Even though it was a good sign that UNC System interim president Bill Roper announced Wedneday that he expects to reopen campuses around the state this fall, there are many other factors involved before a decision on when to start the 2020 football season can be made

UNC System interim president Bill Roper announced Wednesday that he expects to reopen the campuses around the state for the 2020 fall semester.

“Our institutions have done a remarkable job serving their students during this time of crisis,” Roper said in a statement. “I expect to reopen our campuses for the Fall 2020 Semester and look forward to welcoming our faculty and students back to their classrooms and labs this fall."

That’s good news for those hoping the NCAA football season will start as scheduled in September, since Vice-President Mike Pence has stated that college sports can not return from the current coronavirus shutdown until the green light is given for students to return to campuses.

But as ACC commissioner John Swofford noted, it doesn’t guarantee anything considering how many moving parts there are to the current crisis

“You’ve got decisions to be made that are in a sense outside of the sports world,” Swofford said in an interview with The OG Show on Raleigh radio station 99.9 The Fan. “We have 10 states in the Atlantic Coast Conference, so in theory we could have 10 different situations in terms of what can be held,”

“When it gets down to it, I think the virus, science, medicine and our government leaders will ultimately be the ones that determine when we can play games again and play games in front of fans. It’s very complex and right now it’s very much a moving target. And it will be for awhile.”

Swofford has regular discussions with the ACC’s university presidents and athletic directors, as well as his fellow Power 5 commissioners, since sports were put on hold by the coronavirus on March 12 -- only minutes before the quarterfinal round of the ACC men’s basketball tournament was scheduled to begin.

Because of the uncertainty involved, Swofford said that a number of possible options for football season are on the table.

“There’s a lot going on there and we’re building a lot of different scenarios, from the worst case scenario of not playing football and intercollegiate athletics in the fall to a best case of opening on time, and then several paths in between,” Swofford said.

“In terms of the worst case, you hope you’re developing something that you put on paper, you put it in a drawer, you lock the drawer and you hope you never have to unlock it. But its only prudent to go there, because that could be the case we have to deal with.”

NC State coach Dave Doeren said earlier this month that he and his fellow coaches are on board with whatever plan is devised for playing the season -- as long as the season is eventually played.

But no matter what is decided, he said that in the name of safety, it will take a minimum of a month in order to be ready to play any games.

“The longer you're away, the more you think about what that window should look like," Doeren said. "ACC coaches had a long meeting (in early April) and put together various scenarios -- a six-week scenario, a five-week scenario, a four-week scenario. I do think you could do it in four weeks. Obviously, six would be better, but I do think you can do it.

"What we're allowed to do within training camp will have to be different. I think there's going to have to be a lot of really smart communication. We'd have to have a lot of conversations about the safest way for these guys, and particularly here in the south where the heat is what it is, doing the right things for them and the recovery that's needed."