It took only one week for North Carolina to move from in-person classes exclusively to online classes. Monday’s announcement made North Carolina the first major university to take such action, which will take effect Wednesday. The decision was made after reports of multiple COVID-19 outbreaks in student living spaces. In spite of this, the university’s athletic department released a statement saying it still plans on competing in fall sports:
A statement from Carolina Athletics#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/SdYNdBY0lx
— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) August 17, 2020
Notre Dame is scheduled to play the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill on Nov. 27. Not only do the Irish need to keep an eye on how their final road opponent proceeds with this, but since their own campus is seeing a number of COVID-19 cases, they could be looking for a blueprint on what to do should a similar decision be made in South Bend. This is not a time for any university to jeopardize the well-being of its student-athletes. If anything goes wrong, the fallout will be humongous, and everyone involved with this decision-making better realize that.