Coronavirus Affecting College Football World; What's Next For Notre Dame?
It's hard to turn on any news station or log on to Twitter and not see news about the COVID-19, known as the Coronavirus.
On Wednesday, it heavily moved into the sports world, as NCAA President Mark Emmert announced that "only essential staff and limited family attendance" would be allowed at the upcoming Division 1 men's and women's basketball tournaments.
And after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for Coronavirus, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA announced that it would be suspending game play until further notice.
Additionally, the first case of the Coronavirus was reported in St. Joseph County by the South Bend Tribune on Wednesday afternoon.
Notre Dame announced that it would be suspending in-person classes beginning Monday, March 23, and continue through "at least" April 13. The Notre Dame students currently on spring break, with classes not slated to resume until Monday, March 16.
UPDATE: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced at noon Thursday that Notre Dame's student-athletes will not return to campus and on-campus recruiting activities will be shut down for now.
“In alignment with the University of Notre Dame’s decision to suspend in-person classes and the Athletic Department’s decision to suspend activities for teams not in their competitive season, I have asked our student-athletes not to return to campus until further notice. With our student-athletes’ health and well-being at the forefront of our decision making, and given the rapidly changing environment surrounding COVID-19, this is best for all the members of the Notre Dame Football family. In addition, we will not be hosting any recruits or recruiting activities on campus until further notice.
"Father Jenkins and the university leadership team put a great deal of thought into the plan they laid out for Notre Dame and I agree that our football student-athletes should take the same precautions in an effort to reduce the likelihood of the transmission of the virus.”
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day tweeted that the Buckeyes will not be hosting any recruits for the next month.
"We will suspend all official and unofficial visits to our campus through April 20 while we continue to monitor and adjust to today’s changing issues," wrote Day. "In addition, our coaches will not recruit off campus this spring while we follow the university’s new temporary travel guidelines."
Michigan will not allow its coaches to go on the road or host recruits on campus either.
Whether Notre Dame cancels its annual Blue-Gold game, which is scheduled for April 18, and what is next for spring football in general,is uncertain at this time.
The Coronavirus has now affected Notre Dame recruiting as well.
Just on Wednesday afternoon, Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle cornerback Devonta Smith informed BlueandGold.com that he would be visiting Notre Dame next Tuesday. However, his visit, is unlikely to happen, and the massive recruiting weekend lined up for March 21 is certainly in questions as well.
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