UPDATED: May 22, 2020 at 5:07 p.m.

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All Division-I sports are able to begin voluntary on-campus athletic activities June 1, the NCAA announced in a release on Friday. The decision comes two days after its ruling that football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball athletes could return to campus from June 1 until June 30.

Decisions to return will be voluntary, and safety measures — including testing and social distancing protocols — will have to be worked out by individual universities and conferences as well as local and state governments. 

COVID-19 has disrupted the spring and summer college sports calendar, but the moratorium on all athletic activities for all sports will now end May 31. Wednesday’s vote and Friday’s announcement represented significant steps toward the possible return of college football and other sports in the fall. 

“Syracuse University is working to finalize a comprehensive public health strategy for our campus community,” Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack said in a statement on Thursday, “which includes a focus on employing best practices as it relates to social distancing, COVID-19 prevention, detection and treatment.

“In close consultation with public health and government officials, we are working to ensure our student-athletes can healthily pursue sport-specific practice, training, and competition while protecting and safeguarding the well-being of the campus and Central New York communities.”

The football schedule has been particularly in flux. Syracuse had just three spring practices and didn’t even use pads before all spring sports activities were canceled March 12. SU planned to use the spring to install new defensive coordinator Tony White’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme. 

With players spread across the country, the football team recruited virtually, held Zoom calls with former players, trained remotely and participated in online team meetings. Wildhack previously said that football players likely need about six weeks of a “lead up time” to physically prepare for a season. 

SU also announced Wednesday that it will have in-person residential classes starting Aug. 24 with an accelerated curriculum that ends with virtual reading sessions and final exams between Nov. 30 and Dec. 9. 

This story has been updated with additional reporting and the NCAA’s decision to allow voluntary athletic activities across all sports beginning June 1.

Published on May 20, 2020 at 5:57 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman