It’s now official, UVA football returning July 5th

By Jerry Ratcliffe

As reported on this site three weeks ago, Virginia football is permitted to return to campus on Sunday, July 5, for voluntary workouts.

The return meets state, federal and NCAA Resocialization plans for sports.

According to the UVA press release, protocols for student-athletes returning has been coordinated through the school’s health system, which has been researching formats for returning of football players for more than a month.

“Prior to resumption of daily sports functions, all student-athletes and staff will receive Covid-19 specific education … and the UVA Health System will administer and coordinate testing of athletes and staff,” according to the release.

The Virginia Department of Health demands that any players or staff with positive tests or cases be reported to the Thomas Jeferson Health District, and to report all testing results to the athletics programs’ team physicians.

Dr. John MacKnight is the chief team physician for UVA athletics and also is Virginia’s representative on the ACC’s panel of physicians during the pandemic crisis.

There has been no word on whether fans will be allowed to attend games at Scott Stadium this fall, and if so, what that seating capacity might be. More information will be released on this at the appropriate time.

Presently, these are major dates in UVA football’s coming weeks:

• July 5-14 — Voluntary activity
• July 15-25 — Required activity (up to eight hours per week of weight training, conditioning, film review)
• July 26-Aug 8 — Required activity (up to 20 hours per week of activity including walkthrough sessions)
• Aug 9 — Fall training camp opens (a five-day acclimatization period, followed by the opportunity for up to 25 on-field practices