ACC likely to ‘cancel all spring activities,’ Clemson AD says
The Big 10, Big 12 and several other conferences have already canceled baseball, softball and other spring sports for 2020. It appears as though the ACC is likely to be next.
Clemson AD Dan Radakovich told WCCP 105.5 The Roar on Monday morning that athletic directors from around the Atlantic Coast Conference will be on a conference call tomorrow and all spring sports are likely to be canceled for the rest of the year.
“Some of the other conferences, as you’ve seen over the last few days, have suspended that through the remainder of the spring semester,” Radakovich said. “While last week we did an indefinite call of these activities, I would imagine that unless something very unusual happens the ACC will follow suit and cancel all spring activities.”
If that does in fact take place, 38 regular season baseball games will be canceled, while 26 regular season softball games will be canceled.
The men’s and women’s golf teams, men’s and women’s tennis teams, men’s and women’s track teams and women’s rowing team will also have their seasons cut short.
“This is an unprecedented situation that we’re dealing with and it continues to evolve rapidly. This is not about competition. This is about safety and what we can do to help slow the spread of COVID-19 amongst our staff, coaches, faculty, university personnel, our student athletes and our fans,” Radakovich said. “It’s heart wrenching from the standpoint of our student-athletes who have worked so hard over the last month and year to prepare for this season, and especially those who were in their final year. But we’re looking to make sure that our student athletes are taken care of.”
Spring game in limbo
The Clemson spring football game is the latest athletics event to be postponed by the coronavirus, Clemson University announced Sunday night.
The game was originally scheduled for April 4, but Clemson announced Sunday that all university events, programs and activities have been suspended through April 5, including the spring game. There is currently not a planned date for it to be rescheduled, a Clemson spokesperson told The State.
Clemson has already completed nine of its 15 spring practices, and there is no guarantee that the other six will take place. It could be that any decision Tuesday from the ACC regarding spring sports affects the football team as well.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
