NCAA Anticipates Normal Start Time For Fall Sports

The NCAA published an article of frequently asked questions mapping out guidelines for social distancing as well as when fall sports should start.

As the University of South Carolina navigates what social distancing will look like from an athletic standpoint, the NCAA is providing a framework of how schools should operate moving forward.

Thursday they posted a link to some frequently asked questions on the matter and as of now it appears football season will start on time.

“The working assumption of sport resocialization is that the current dates for fall championship events remain in place as scheduled,” the article stated. “Governance committees and related staff working groups within each division continue to evaluate potential adjustments to practice and regular season competition schedules. Unless there is a resurgence in the pandemic, other medical and scientific complications, or widespread impracticality that dictates otherwise, the current plan is to continue with the fall championship calendar.”

The article also states that the various committees and boards are working to find a proper start date for things like practices and workouts, which has been a concern for football coaches.

On a phone conference earlier this spring, USC head football coach Will Muschamp said they were preparing for a regular start to the season until he was told otherwise.

“Until somebody tells me differently we’re playing in the fall and I think it takes at least eight weeks minimal to get ready,” Muschamp said. “A month to get in shape and then a month of practice in order to prepare the right way and keep the student-athletes healthy.”

Until that time, school officials have to figure out how to manage large groups for things such as tailgating and the actual game. During a virtual town hall Wednesday evening, South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner said they are currently running models to determine how the process will go.

 “Right now we’re approximately four months away from kickoff so we still have a little bit of time to answer some questions. It is likely that social distancing will be in place in Williams Bryce and other venues. We are currently running models to determine what fan attendance could look like. But we’re still excited about the opportunity to have live sports but there is some time and we’ll answer those questions and try to resolve those issues as we move forward.”

As far as what the NCAA is going to require from schools, the FAQ article stated that these are more strong suggestions than nationwide mandates.

There were a few key points on how the schools should handle the return of sports:

•There must not be national directives that preclude resocialization.

•State and local authorities must have a resocialization plan in place.

•A school’s athletics department must have a resocialization plan in place.

•Athletics health care providers must have access to personal protective equipment.

•There must be the ability to work on the local/regional level to assess immunity, provide rapid diagnostic testing, have a surveillance system in place and develop transparent risk analyses.

The article also suggests that sports be brought back in phases, gauging how the individuals react to the re-opened environment along the way.

“Phase One is the beginning of sport resocialization. This can be considered a testing phase, to help determine the readiness of an athletics department to begin working with student-athletes,” the article states. “It is recommended that physical distancing and strict sanitation measures remain in place. Masks are necessary when physical distancing is not possible, and repetitive handling of a shared object such as game balls and other shared equipment should be avoided. It is particularly important to adhere to strict sanitation procedures: Common areas such as gyms and training rooms should remain closed unless strict distancing and sanitation measures can be implemented, and group activities should be limited to 10 or fewer individuals.”

For more on the guidelines and other frequently asked questions click the link below.

How and when do NCAA sports return?

This FAQ doc will help guide members as a follow-up to Core Principles of Resocialization of Collegiate Sport: https://t.co/DHMv99sgcI pic.twitter.com/DSvR8XPuHo

— NCAA (@NCAA) May 7, 2020