As the lone Power Five holdout, the ACC has, as expected, joined the Football Media Days crowd. While practicing proper social distancing, of course.
In late April, the MWC was the first FBS league to announce that the conference will hold its Football Media Days virtually instead of in-person. A day later, the MAC announced that its Football Media Days will be virtual as well. Then, May 4, the AAC confirmed it will be doing the same. The next day, it was ditto for Conference USA.
May 6, the Big 12 became the first Power Five to go virtual for Media Days. The Pac-12 quickly followed suit. May 22, the Big Ten did the inevitable as well. Ditto the SEC on June 10.
Schedule-wise, the ACC had the latest Football Media Days. So, while they held out as long as they could, the ACC confirmed Thursday morning that it has canceled its in-person Football Media Days. That event had been scheduled for July 22-23 in Charlotte.
Unlike the other Power Fives, however, the ACC has announced its plans for a virtual Football Media Days. According to a release, the conference “will conduct its annual ACC Football Kickoff virtually July 21-23, 2020. The event will include live coverage available on ACC Network with ACC Commissioner John Swofford, the league’s head coaches and select student-athletes.”
An event schedule, including a list of virtual attendees, will be released at a later date.
“As we continue to navigate the necessary steps surrounding COVID-19, transitioning this year’s ACC Football Kickoff from an in-person event to a virtual experience is the best option to provide media access to our coaches and student-athletes,” said Swofford in a statement. “Our primary focus in all decisions continues to be the health and welfare of our student-athletes, coaches, and in this specific instance, all of our media partners and event attendees.”