After NC State athletics had 22 positive COVID-19 tests, the football team’s opener vs. Virginia Tech has been postponed from Sept. 12 to Sept. 26.
The ACC anticipated this was inevitable and that’s why the schedules had three built-in off weeks in the event games needed to be moved around due to the ongoing concerns about the coronavirus.
Now, NC State and Virginia Tech’s game that was scheduled for Sept. 12 has been postponed until Sept. 26 in the wake of NC State athletics pausing activities after 22 positive coronavirus tests.
The news was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo!
Sources: NC State’s opening game at Virginia Tech schedule for Sept. 12 has officially been moved. The teams will play on Sept. 26. Decision comes in the wake of NC State athletics taking a pause because of 22 new positive COVID cases in the atheltic department.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 26, 2020
Virginia Tech will not open its season against rival Virginia on Sept 19 while NC State will open against Wake Forest on the same date.
NC State – Virginia Tech postponed due to coronavirus outbreak
This game may not be the last game postponed due to outbreaks on campus or within athletic teams or departments. This is why it was smart by the ACC to allow for flexibility when releasing their updated schedule. Rather than outright canceling the entire season, the conference built-in three off weeks in case teams needed to reschedule a game for later in the season in the event there was no way of pulling off the game at the regularly-scheduled date.
It’s also why the SEC should be commended for delaying the start of the season until Sept. 26 to allow for a three-four week period between students returning to campus for the fall semester to when the first game would be played.
Anticipating an outbreak of positives when students returned to campus has forced schools from North Carolina to Michigan State to Notre Dame and countless other places to have secondary plans. This could include sending students home for remote learning for the semester or for a matter of a few weeks for the large benefit of the football programs, which are significant revenue-generators for universities in a time of financial constraints.
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