Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Syracuse football and other ACC crews will participate in a virtual pre-season media event.
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s annual pre-season media event showcasing Syracuse football and other league schools will move from an in-person format scheduled to take place in North Carolina to a virtual one, the conference has announced.
This is unsurprising, given the novel coronavirus pandemic, but nonetheless also a disappointment for Orange players and head coach Dino Babers, as well as their counterparts throughout the league.
The yearly pre-season media affair, known as ACC Football Kickoff, was slated to transpire in Charlotte, N.C., but now it will happen virtually from July 21-23, according to the conference’s press release.
Syracuse football head coach Dino Babers and players will participate in a virtual ACC pre-season media event.
As in previous terms, the 2020 version of ACC Football Kickoff will include media interviews with the league’s commissioner, John Swofford, as well as all 14 head coaches and certain players from each squad.
The conference says that the event will air live on the ACC Network, with additional details, like the schedule of interviews, getting revealed at a later date.
"“As we continue to navigate the necessary steps surrounding COVID-19, transitioning this year’s ACC Football Kickoff from an in-person event to a virtual experience is the best option to provide media access to our coaches and student-athletes,” Swofford said in the league’s press statement. “Our primary focus in all decisions continues to be the health and welfare of our student-athletes, coaches, and in this specific instance, all of our media partners and event attendees.”"
More than a week ago, roughly 65 Syracuse football players returned to the Hill for voluntary workouts, according to an announcement from the university’s athletics department.
The players have undergone testing for COVID-19, along with several dozen others, such as coaches, football staff members and athletics department personnel.