LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville will welcome some athletes back to campus May 27 after the NCAA Division I council gave the OK in a vote Wednesday.
Louisville athletics director Vince Tyra said 30 football players and 15 players in men's and women's basketball will return on May 27, and can begin voluntary workouts without coaches on June 8, after an 11-day quarantine.
Tyra said a decision has not been made on if the college football season will begin on time or how schools will handle the fan experience. Social distancing requirements because of the novel coronavirus are likely to result in limited attendance. There have been suggestions that games will be played without fans.
According to U of L this will be the initial plan for the return of athletes to campus:
Under the first phase, a limited group of student-athletes totaling about 30 in football, plus 15 in men’s and women’s basketball, would arrive on campus on May 27, with education on protocols to be employed prior to their arrival.
The group would begin testing and physical examinations on June 3 and be ready to participate in voluntary physical training, not directed by coaching staffs, on June 8.
Three U of L facilities -- the Schnellenberger Football Complex, Trager Center, and Planet Fitness Kueber Center -- would be open with limited occupancy during the first phase.
There will be no coaching involvement, per NCAA rules.
A second phase, if all goes well with the first, will bring 30 more football players and 60 athletes from Olympic sports back to campus on June 10, with workouts to begin on June 22. The third phase would be the return of the rest of the football team on July 6, with workouts beginning July 18. All athletes would be back to campus by late July or August.
"Let them get re-acclimated and then begin our testing," Tyra said. "We want to educate them.
"It will be be voluntary. We want to create a safe environment ... if there is a student athlete that has a pre-existing condition those are the ones we have to be thoughtful about.
"We have laid about a pretty comprehensive plan. There will be more things."
The NCAA is allowing the return for football players, and for men’s and women’s basketball players, as long as all local, state and federal guidelines are followed.
Other sports will be decided at a later date. It represents the first athletic activity at U of L since the Atlantic Coast Conference suspended all sports activities on March 12.
It’s the first step toward a college sports season in the fall, though no one yet knows whether that season will start on time, or what it will look like.
Asked if he believes there will be a college football season in 2020, Tyra said, "We're certainly planning for it, just like we were planning for this ... We're still preparing and thinking about football as if it's going to begin on time."
Tyra said that not all ACC schools were comfortable with their athletes returning to campus by early June and that he could foresee the season opening with all ACC schools participating.
He said that no decisions had been made on fan attendance at events.
As states are gradually reopening – and allowing access to gyms and fitness centers – the NCAA gave the go ahead for colleges to slowly open their doors to athletes.
At U of L, the doors still haven’t opened to students, and won’t during the summer semester, though president Neeli Bendapudi has advised students that the school does plan a return to in-person instruction in its fall semester.
As for athletics, when large groups of athletes will be returned to campus will be a matter decided by state, university and conference officials, Tyra said.
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