ACC pushes back fall Olympic sports competition until 'at least' Sept. 1

Soccer is one of the ACC fall sports that faces a murky future this fall.
Soccer is one of the ACC fall sports that faces a murky future this fall.

The COVID-19 pandemic may officially have an impact on the timeline of Duke athletic competition this fall.

According to a tweet from The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach Thursday morning, the ACC is expected to announce Thursday that it will not allow fall sports competitions until at "at least" Sept. 1. Auerbach added that practices for fall sports will still be allowed in August, but that no games or exhibitions will take place until the turn of the month.

While Duke football's first game isn't scheduled until Sept. 5 anyway, the ACC's official statement later clarified that this decision will only affect the "Olympic Sports" of men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer and volleyball.

None of these teams for Duke currently have listed 2020 schedules, but based on last year's slate it is likely that some games will have to be rescheduled or cancelled.

Men's soccer played in three exhibitions and two official games in August last year. Women's soccer, meanwhile, played in two exhibitions and four games, including its matchup at then-No. 2 North Carolina.

Field hockey played in one scrimmage against the Tar Heels and one game against then-No. 9 Penn State last August, while volleyball took on Michigan State and then-No. 1 Stanford in the College of Charleston Classic prior to the turn of the month.

Men's and women's cross country participated in one meet last August, with the men's team taking home first overall in the Elon Opener and the women's team finishing fourth.

This announcement comes just one day after the Ivy League announced that it will play no sports prior to January 1, with a decision on whether the conference's fall sports will be postponed or cancelled altogether to come.

It remains to be seen whether the ACC's announcement will be the only one made related to rescheduling this fall, or if there is still more to come on their end as well.

Editor’s note: The headline has been changed to make it clear that this announcement isn't affecting the football schedules for any team.

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