Sports are an integral part of the college experience; there is no doubt about that. But right now there are a lot of question marks surrounding what football and other fall sports will look like this year. Will there be a football season? Will fans be able to attend games? What about the other fall sports? While we might not know the definitive answers to these questions, we can look at what the ACC has already said, what other conferences and schools are doing and what has happened with professional sports in the past month to give you a better idea of what fall sports might look like this year.
What the ACC and NC State have already said and done:
On Wednesday, July 29, the ACC made a big announcement about what fall sports would look like. Football is going to play an 11-game schedule with 10 conference and one nonconference game. Both soccer teams will play a minimum of six games and volleyball will play a minimum of 10. All three teams are able to schedule more in and out of conference games if they want, as long as the opponents meet the ACC’s medical protocol requirements. Cross country will also compete this fall; however, scheduling of regular season competitions will be up to each school’s discretion.
It was also confirmed that competition for baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and mens’ and women’s golf was canceled for the fall, but golf and tennis student athletes are eligible to compete unattached.
While, as of right now, there are going to be competitions, there is nothing confirmed yet about if fans will be allowed to attend. Athletics Director Boo Corrigan said in a letter sent out on the same day as the ACC’s release it was highly likely Carter-Finley Stadium would be operating with a reduced capacity, if fans are allowed.
Should fans be allowed in the stands, a decision that is more likely to be decided by local and state governments and not the university, there will be at least five, with a possible sixth depending on the nonconference game, home football games, the dates and time of which are yet to be announced.
We also know if fans are allowed at sporting events, there will be mobile ticketing only, according to Corrigan’s July 29 statement. This was done in order to create both a contact-free entry into the venue and flexibility in case the schedules are forced to change.
The ACC Championships for football, men’s and women’s soccer and cross country were also announced July 29. Football will take place Dec. 12 or 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The championships for cross country and both men’s and women’s soccer will take place at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Cross country will take place Oct. 30 and feature all 15 member schools. Men’s and women’s soccer will each only feature the top four teams and will be held Nov. 13 and 15, and Nov. 6 and 8, respectively.
NC State has also released the results of two separate rounds of COVID-19 testing within the department. The first round of results yielded five positives, and the most recent round, the results of which were released July 31, yielded just two positives. It was not specified if the positives tests were from student-athletes, coaches or staff.
As of now there will be sports this semester; however, that could change in the coming weeks. What exactly the sports will look like is also yet to be seen. Technician will provide updates as more information about fall sports becomes available.
What other conferences are doing:
Like the ACC, other big conferences have started to announce what their plans are for fall sports. The SEC has already said it will play a conference-only football schedule (meaning the possibility of Mississippi State being NC State’s plus one is gone). Similarly, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have announced each league will only play in-conference.
The lone Power Five conference yet to announce a decision is the Big 12, which is reportedly split on the way to set up its upcoming football schedule.
As for the Pac-12, a collection of players from the conference have vowed to opt-out of fall training camps until the Pac-12 guarantees to protect the players from the conference, as complications from COVID-19 and other issues have dampened the connection between the players and conference officials. The players told The Players Tribune that they want both scholarship and walk-on athletes covered in benefits in writing.
While the big conferences are moving to conference-only, or majority conference only schedules, some have outright cancelled football for the fall.
The Ivy League postponed all sports until at least January, and it remains to be seen if the league will even play any of its regularly scheduled fall sports this year.
All of the uncertainty surrounding fall sports has led some schools to cut programs altogether. Stanford cut 11 of its varsity programs, including field hockey and men’s volleyball due to budget issues related to COVID-19.
Bubble vs. no bubble in professional sports
The best comparisons for what college sports could look like this fall are the MLB and USL Championship, which are both currently playing outside of a bubble. Unfortunately for college sports, the writing is seemingly on the wall for these leagues.
The USL Championship and MLB have both already had games postponed due to positive tests, either in the build up to games or from previous opponents. As of July 29, the USL Championship had nine different matches postponed in just over two weeks of play according to The Athletic’s Jeff Rueter.
Similarly, the MLB has had its own issues with coronavirus, as six teams have seen games being postponed so far in the young season.
Multiple outlets have also reported that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has warned the season could be shut down if coronavirus is not managed better by the league.
While the leagues are doing the right thing by postponing games when players test positive, it seems like only a matter of time before something slips by these protocols, causing the seasons to be halted.
It may not be a perfect comparison, but these two leagues are the closest thing to what college sports will look like in the fall since there is no possibility of a bubble.
Zach Ruffin, a second-year studying Livestock & Poultry Management, cheers on the Wolfpack at the football game versus James Madison University on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Carter Finley Stadium. The Wolfpack beat JMU 24-13.
