What might a formal return to business for college football programs look like? That's been the question throughout this coronavirus pandemic, and on Thursday the NCAA Football Oversight Committee provided the most clarity yet.
Per Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel, the committee passed a recommendation that coaches can begin formally working with their teams on July 13 and that preseason camps could open on Aug. 7.
Those recommendations still need further approval when the NCAA Division I Council votes on the matter June 17, per the Yahoo Sports report.
As outlined in the report, "schools can begin to have access to their players on July 13, which would include strength workouts and coaches engaging in film study with their players. (It would be a week earlier for teams involved in Week 0, as they’ve been told they can start July 6.) According to the language discussed on the football oversight call, summer access may begin 25 calendar days prior to the first permissible preseason practice date.
"Those eight-hour weeks would transition to a pair of 20-hour weeks on July 24, which have been added in part as a safety measure to help get players physically prepared for the season. These have been discussed by the group as being comparable to NFL OTAs, as they’d include walkthroughs and a ball."
The Pac-12 Conference previously announced that its schools could begin to have athletes back for voluntary on-campus workouts as of this coming Monday, but USC has yet to make any corresponding announcement.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday regarding the news that USC had ended its 10-year disassociation with Trojans legend Reggie Bush, athletic director Mike Bohn offered a quick comment on the matter of resuming football activities.
"Our commitment to our existing student-athletes is as high a level as you can imagine as we try to ensure that it can be safe for their return here shortly," Bohn said. "I really want to salute our partners at the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, our health professionals, our professionals across the Pac-12 Conference that we're continuing to make progress there and we're hopeful we can share some news with you here shortly."
