NCAA approves football, basketball student-athletes’ return to campus starting June 1
The NCAA announced Wednesday that football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball programs across the country may return to campus starting June 1 – but the final decision will ultimately rest with state and local governments, as well as university officials. (Tanmay Shankar/Assistant Photo editor)
By Jared Tay
May 20, 2020 3:58 p.m.
This post was updated May 20 at 4:16 p.m.
While UCLA’s campus will remain dormant for the foreseeable future, there may be signs of stirring in Westwood come next month.
The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to allow football and both basketball programs’ student-athletes to return to campus beginning June 1, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel. The move is potentially a signal of an incremental push for collegiate sports to return for the fall after the NCAA imposed a moratorium on all athletic activities until May 31.
UCLA Athletics did not release a statement on the decision, but a department spokesperson said the university’s policy come June 1 will be dependent on where campus and local public health orders are at that time.
The college football season is slated to begin on Aug. 29, with UCLA scheduled to take on New Mexico State at the Rose Bowl to open its 2020 campaign. Whether fans will be allowed in the stands remains an unanswered question.
Despite the NCAA’s decision, UCLA has already announced that in-person classes would be suspended through summer session C. Whether UCLA will allow students to return to campus for the fall quarter still remains up in the air, while the California State University campuses have all announced that classes will remain virtual to start the new school year.
The NCAA’s decision will impact CSU schools that also field Division I FBS football programs – San Jose State, Fresno State and San Diego State.
UCLA suspended all athletic events beginning March 12, and with additional cancelations from the Pac-12 and NCAA, both the men’s and women’s basketball programs were unable to complete their postseason competitions. UCLA football had its spring practices and game canceled as well.
While Wednesday’s decision to allow student-athletes to return is only applicable to three sports, Thamel reported the NCAA will likely hold a vote for other sports teams as soon as possible.
