Notre Dame Pauses Football Practice Amid School's COVID-19 Spike

Notre Dame's football team will not practice Wednesday, and potentially Thursday, because of an outbreak of COVID-19 on the campus that has led to classes being moved online.

The university moved to remote instruction until at least Sept. 2 this week after there were at least 222 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on campus. A total of 1,287 people have been tested since students returned to campus, meaning about 17.2 percent of people tested positive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a positivity rate of no more than five percent before opening.

Notre Dame plans on playing an ACC schedule in 2020, and the conference to this point has remained steadfast in its push to play this season. North Carolina's campus has also moved to online learning after an outbreak of the virus on its campus.

The Tar Heels football team is currently slated to remain on campus and play the 2020 season, despite most students being sent home.

The fight over the status of the 2020 college football season has become increasingly fraught, especially as players and parents of the Big Ten conference look for answers as to why their season was canceled. Outbreaks like the ones happening at Notre Dame, especially if it winds up carrying over to the football team, could provide the conferences that proceeded with caution some hard statistical backing.