Amid the news that UNC will transition to virtual classes for the fall semester, Carolina Athletics has released a statement saying they “still are expecting to play this fall.”

On Monday, the university announced that it will move undergraduate courses online after 130 students tested positive for coronavirus in the first week of classes. Of the 924 tests administered last week, 13.6 percent returned positive, an increase from 2.8 percent the previous week.

UNC specified in its message to the campus community that student-athletes will have the option to remain on campus.

“Our student-athletes will continue to attend online classes, and may choose to remain in their on-and-off campus residences,” the statement read. “Workouts and practices will continue under the standards set by our University, health officials and department.”

As of Monday, UNC remains on course to play college football this fall. The football team has new protective face masks within each helmet and are practicing social distancing guidelines while practicing.

Head coach Mack Brown told reporters last week that when the ACC schedule was announced, it finally felt like they were working towards something.

“I think it kind of came to reality today that, ‘Hey, we may actually play, it’s important we better go to work,’” Brown said after the team’s first practice. “So, I think this was a really good day for our football team. Because they see some exciting challenges ahead that they weren’t sure where that was a week ago.”

But while football marches on, other fall sports have an uncertain future. Last week, the NCAA announced that fall championships for all sports besides football have been canceled. NCAA President Mark Emmert said they would look towards potentially hold those championships in later months.

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t and can’t turn toward winter and spring and say, ‘How can we create a legitimate championship for those students?’” Emmert said. “There are ways to do this. I am completely confident we can figure this out. If schools and conferences want to move forward … let’s do it.”

This decision to continue with fall sports comes as UNC prepares to take a significant financial hit due to the pandemic. Athletic director Bubba Cunningham said UNC Athletics could potentially lose up to $52 million in revenue if fall sports seasons and the men’s basketball season are shortened or canceled.

Featured image via Mike Jones/UNC Athletics

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