NCAA approves plan for teams such as Penn State to begin preseason football camp
Penn State football could be moving closer to an on-time start to the 2020 season.
The NCAA Division I Council approved a preseason football plan Wednesday that has schools on track for their scheduled start.
The plan includes a six-week preseason leading up to the beginning of the regular season as well as a time frame for practices and workouts leading up to the preseason.
Some schools will be allowed to begin summer workouts July 6, while most, including Penn State, can begin July 13.
Teams who are scheduled to play their first game on Labor Day weekend can begin at the later date, while those who are scheduled to participate in games the week before can begin at the earlier date.
These workouts are different from the current voluntary workouts Penn State is taking part in because coaches will be allowed to work with players.
Once summer workouts conclude, programs will be permitted to begin a two-week period of summer training that will allow for 20 hours of activities for student-athletes each week. They’ll be allowed to participate in helmet-less and pad-less walk-throughs for one hour each day during the two-week period, and the use of a football will be permitted.
The usual four-week fall camp would take place after the two-week summer training session and can start Aug. 7.
The four-week camp would be mandated by the NCAA prior to the start of a team’s season, meaning an interruption in the middle of the camp could hamper an on-time start.
The Nittany Lions are scheduled to begin their season Sept. 5 against Kent State at Beaver Stadium.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 6:17 PM.
