UNC is moving classes online due to coronavirus. Here’s what it means for football.
One week after the start of on-campus classes, UNC-Chapel Hill announced it will move all undergraduate classes online, starting on Wednesday.
According to the university’s Aug. 10-16 coronavirus data report released Monday, 130 students and five employees tested positive for the coronavirus since its last weekly report was released a week ago.
So how will that affect fall sports, including football?
For now, athletes will continue to work out and practice and will take classes online with the option to remain in their dorms or off-campus residences, according to a statement from the UNC athletic department.
“We still are expecting to play this fall, and we will continue to evaluate the situation in coordination with the University, the ACC, state and local officials, and health officials,” the athletic department said in a release. “The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, and community remains our priority.”
UNC’s announcement of all online classes follows four COVID-19 clusters reported in three days at the university in dorms, apartments and a fraternity house. UNC has reported 324 coronavirus cases — 279 students and 45 staff members — since February, according to its online dashboard.
The coronavirus and UNC football
Earlier this month, three UNC football players — defensive backs D.J. Ford, Javon Terry, Bryce Watts — announced they would opt out of playing in the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. In July, the Tar Heels had to stop volunteer summer workouts for one week after 37 positive coronavirus tests in the UNC athletics department were confirmed.
The ACC released revised football schedules earlier this month and still plan to have the 2020 football season. North Carolina is scheduled to begin its season Sept. 12 at home against Syracuse. Last week, the ACC released a statement about its COVID-19 medical protocol.
“The ACC will continue to make decisions based on medical advice, inclusive of our Medical Advisory Group, local and state health guidelines, and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities’ academic missions. The safety of our students, staff and overall campus communities will always be our top priority, and we are pleased with the protocols being administrated on our 15 campuses. We will continue to follow our process that has been in place for months and has served us well. We understand the need to stay flexible and be prepared to adjust as medical information and the landscape evolves.”
Earlier that same day, Dr. Cameron Wolfe, the chairman of the ACC’s medical advisory team, said he thought football could be played safely this fall.
In May ACC commissioner John Swofford talked about sports being played without students on campus being a “foreign” concept.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Swofford said. “It’s another unanswered question right now. Most people I talk to in college athletics and higher education I think agree that that’s a foreign thought to most of us.”
What was a foreign concept three months ago, is now a reality for UNC.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 7:04 PM.
