Pitt, ACC to delay start of fall competitions

Six athletic teams at Pitt will experience a slight delay in the start of fall competition.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Thursday that the season starts for each of its Olympic sports at its 15 members schools will be no earlier than Sept. 1.

The delay includes all exhibition and nonconference games in men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball.

The decision, the ACC league office said in a statement, will allow each campus to further focus on ensuring return-to-competition protocols are in place to facilitate the resocialization process.

The decision was approved unanimously by the ACC Board of Directors.

ACC schools are expected to continue their respective return to competition protocols in advance of the start of fall seasons. Rescheduling of contests will be determined by each school.

The earliest football game involving ACC schools, a matchup between conference foes N.C. State and Louisville, tentatively is slated for Sept. 2.

Pitt’s 2020 football schedule begins with a Sept. 5 game at Heinz Field against Miami (Ohio).

The Pitt athletic department, using guidance from health experts at the university and others at the local, national and international levels, instituted a phased return to campus for voluntary offseason activities in football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball between June 8 and June 29.

A series of safety protocols are in place for each step of the teams’ offseason training process.

The ACC league office stressed that continued discussions concerning the impact of covid-19 on fall schedules and competitions could lead to additional changes with the priority continuing to be the health and safety of each student-athlete.