The ACC is delaying the start of Fall sports until Sept. 1, the conference announced Thursday. The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach was the first to report the impending decision.
The ACC is expected to announce today that it will not allow fall sport competitions (games/exhibitions) until at least Sept. 1, sources tell @TheAthleticCFB. That would affect sports like soccer, field hockey, etc.
Practices for all sports would still be allowed in August.
— Nicole Auerbach 😷 (@NicoleAuerbach) July 9, 2020
The ACC later confirmed Auerbach’s scoop.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that each of its fall Olympic Sports will delay the start of competition until at least September 1. https://t.co/t178ebE3RE
— The ACC (@theACC) July 9, 2020
However, it’s a decision that will have implications for programs throughout the NCAA ––including the Florida Gators.
Florida’s soccer program has early season contests on the schedule against several ACC programs, with road contests Aug. 21 against North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Aug. 23 in Durham against Duke University. And on Aug. 28, Becky Burleigh’s team is scheduled to take on Miami (Fl.) in Coral Gables.
Now it appears those games won’t go on as scheduled, meaning UF’s first battle with an ACC opponent will happen Sept. 4 at home against Florida State under the new timeline.
As for the UF volleyball team, the 2020 schedule has yet to be released, but the Gators are no stranger to playing ACC opponents early in the season. In 2019, UF traveled to Louisville Aug. 30 for a battle with the Cardinals.
This is a developing story.
