NCAA Reportedly Passes Recommended CFB Practice Return Dates Amid Pandemic

The NCAA Football Oversight Committee has recommended that college football coaches be allowed to begin working with players July 13 amid a restructured preseason schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.

The date would be moved up to July 6 for teams whose seasons are scheduled to start in "Week 0" on August 29, including opponents California and UNLV, among others.

Those sessions, beginning July 6 or 13, would consist of strength training and film study and can be held up to eight hours per week.

On July 24, teams may begin holding a transitional form of practice that has "been discussed by the group as being comparable to NFL OTAs, as they'd include walkthroughs and a ball," per Thamel. Those sessions can be held up to 20 hours per week.

Training camp would then start August 7.

The NCAA Division I Council must approve the dates set forth by the NCAA Football Oversight Committee but is expected to do so following a vote scheduled for Wednesday, per Thamel.

Teams have been allowed to hold voluntary workouts since June 1 after the NCAA lifted a moratorium on athletic activities. The NCAA had also canceled spring and summer championships.

The 2020 college football season is scheduled to begin Saturday, August 29, with six games. 

That slate initially included Notre Dame vs. Navy in Dublin, but that game will be rescheduled and played in Annapolis, Maryland, at another date—likely Labor Day weekend (Sept. 5 or 6).

The Week 1 slate is set to begin Thursday, Sept. 3, and run through Monday, Sept. 7.