Most, if not all, ACC schools will honor scholarships for opt-out athletes
Most, if not all, ACC schools will honor the scholarships of fall sports athletes who opt out of playing this season due to health concerns, according to a News & Observer survey.
The ACC left that decision up to individual schools, and 13 of the 15 schools confirmed they would honor those financial aid agreements, including all four North Carolina schools and Clemson. A Louisville spokesman said the school would “treat each case individually and let the circumstances dictate our decision.” Virginia Tech did not immediately respond.
Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley, a projected first-round NFL draft pick next spring from Hickory who played at Maiden High, announced this week he would sit out his redshirt junior season and prepare for the NFL draft instead. Farley’s mother died of breast cancer in 2018. Virginia Tech has not said whether Farley’s scholarship will be honored if he enrolls for the fall semester.
“I cannot afford to lose another parent or loved one,” Farley said on his Instagram account. “Though the competitor in me badly wants to play this season, I cannot ignore what’s going on in my heart and I must make the decision that brings me the most peace.”
North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Friday that none of his players have opted out this season. Duke and N.C. State spokespeople said no athletes had opted out at those schools at this time.
“We have asked our players, our coaches and our staff every time we’ve talked to them, ‘If anybody is uncomfortable with this, go home. Keep your scholarship, keep your salary. We’ll see you when this stuff is over,’” Brown said. “And we have no problems with that. It’s not a macho thing. Tell me, tell your coach, have your parents call us. We want to make sure that no one is uncomfortable.
“In fact, we’ve got some of our staff members -- not our coaches, but some of our staff members -- that can work remotely have not been back to work yet. They work from home. They have not been in the building, and we discussed that again today. If at any point, the doctors say it is not safe to play, we won’t play.“
UNC athletics had one of the biggest outbreaks nationally, with 37 positive tests of staff and athletes upon returning to campus earlier this month. Clemson also had 37 positives among football players in two separate waves. Other programs, including East Carolina, have had to shut down summer workouts because of COVID-19 outbreaks.
The ACC announced Wednesday that it would push back the start of football season to mid-September and attempt to play a modified schedule of 10 conference games and one nonconference game, with Notre Dame treated as a full football member on a temporary basis -- “For the 2020 season as communicated currently,” a Notre Dame spokesperson said.
The Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC have all announced their schools will honor scholarships for athletes who opt out as a matter of conference policy while a Big 12 spokesman said that conference’s institutions have committed to doing the same.
Updated Aug. 3 with Notre Dame response.
Staff writer Emily Leiker contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 2:49 PM.
