The NCAA Division I Council voted to allow college football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball to begin voluntary activities from June 1 to June 30, multiple reports said Wednesday.
There was a moratorium on all organized team workouts in place through May 31. Decisions for other sports will be made “within the next week,” one report said.
Individual Division I schools will need to make decisions for themselves based on state and local coronavirus guidelines in place. This could mean that colleges in coronavirus hot spots will need to wait longer than those in areas not hit as hard.
There will not be an NCAA mandate on how frequently athletes and coaches must be tested, Yahoo reported.
College football is a fall sport, with regular-season games scheduled as early as Aug. 29. While basketball is considered a winter sport, seasons begin in November and preseason practices even earlier than that. The measure could be seen as a sign that college sports will be played as usual in the coming fall semester.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith told reporters on a teleconference this week that the school planned to allow voluntary workouts to resume on June 8.
As far back as late April, University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld said the Hawkeyes’ football program would return to practice June 1, the day after the moratorium was set to expire.
Sources: The NCAA Division I Council voted to approve voluntary athletic activities in football, MBB and WBB to start June 1st and go through June 30th. There had been a moratorium on that through May 31st. Other sports will be acted on on a later date.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 20, 2020
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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