COVID-19 ISSUES FORCE VIRGINIA TECH TO POSTPONE HOME OPENER VERSUS VIRGINIA

Jackson Didlake

September 13, 2020

BLACKSBURG - On Saturday, Virginia Tech announced that its season opener on Sept. 19 against Virginia has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the program. In a corresponding move, the Hokies have suspended football practices for four days.

“After consultation with Atlantic Coast Conference officials, our counterparts at the University of Virginia, campus leadership at Virginia Tech and Dr. Mark Rogers, Chief Medical Officer for Virginia Tech Athletics, the mutual decision has been made to move the football game between Virginia Tech and Virginia at Lane Stadium to a later date stemming from COVID-19 issues,” the Virginia Tech athletic department said in a statement Saturday morning.

“Thursday, we had a significant number of tests come back. … We were anxiously waiting for those,” Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock told the media in a press conference on Saturday. “The ACC has a number of protocols in place to postpone a game and we certainly met a number of those, if not, all of those. … We did not meet the minimums all across the board.”

Babcock and head coach Justin Fuente met with the team at 8 a.m. on Saturday and informed them that the Hokies were unable to safely play Virginia.

“[I] certainly feel for our players, our fans, UVA’s players and fans as well,” Babcock said. “We understand to the best of our ability what it feels to be UVA. We could have played last week and NC State could not, and this week it is reversed.”

Virginia Tech is waiting for a batch of tests on Monday that will determine whether it can return together on Tuesday. Should the tests come back with many positives, the Hokies may have to extend their practice hiatus, though Babcock is positive about the unpredictable future.

“The most hope we take, and nobody can predict this virus, is seeing how it’s cycling through some other teams," Babcock said. The athletic director mentioned Clemson, Louisville and North Carolina, which have gone through similar issues and recovered.

Tech's rivalry contest against the Cavaliers was one of the top games of the weekend, slated for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC. Babcock said he was told that ESPN’s College GameDay was talking about coming to Blacksburg next weekend before he sent a “cryptic” message not to announce it if it were the case.

The COVID-19 issues put a wrench in the Hokies' schedule - and season opener - for a third time.

The Hokies first schedule had the Hokies facing Liberty at home on Sept. 5. After the ACC decided to play conference only games due to COVID-19 concerns, the Hokies were supposed to face NC State on Sept. 12 at home. That matchup was postponed to Sept. 26 on Aug. 26 after NC State dealt with positive tests of student-athletes, making the Virginia game the season opener until it’s postponement Saturday.

The Hokies are now scheduled to begin their season on Sept. 26 against NC State at Lane Stadium. As for the Battle for the Commonwealth Cup, that’s Babcock’s next task - to find a make-up date.

“We would settle for any date, and the one at the end of the season would set up nicely,” Babcock said. “I think as the ACC looks at this schedule, they’ve got to figure out whether it’s a one week thing or two.”