We've moved past the stage where seemingly every university announced within a 3-day span that they were "planning" to open, and now it's time for schools to start figuring out how they're going to make it happen.
On Monday, multiple universities announced their plans: An early start, and an even earlier finish.
"The University of Notre Dame will welcome students back to campus for the 2020-21 fall semester the week of Aug. 10, two weeks earlier than originally scheduled, and will forgo fall break in October and end the semester before Thanksgiving, the University’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today in letters to the campus community," Notre Dame said in an announcement.
South Carolina similarly announced it will begin its fall semester on Aug. 20. Classes will be held on Labor Day as well as its planned Oct. 15-16 fall break, and face-to-face instruction will end Nov. 24.
Final exams will remain Dec. 7-14, but the week of class leading to Finals Week will be held remotely.
"I realize that students and faculty look forward to getting away and recharging in the middle of the semester, and I appreciate that many of you will not be pleased with the decision to cancel Fall Break," South Carolina president Bob Caslen said. "These changes are part of the new normal that all of us must embrace as we return to campus for work and study, and they are necessary for us to successfully resume in-person instruction. Most importantly, they reflect our top priority: your health, safety and wellbeing."
Marquette and Creighton also announced similar plans Monday.
The thinking here is obvious: leaders across all spectrums are trying to avoid an anticipated second wave, which experts believe could arrive alongside the normal flu season.
Breaking at Thanksgiving allows colleges to avoid a scenario where students contract the coronavirus back home, then unknowingly bring it back to a chilly campus populated by students stuck inside studying for finals. The risk is especially high at a school like Notre Dame, where many students take airplanes home and back to campus.
Colleges will eventually have to cross that bridge in January, but at least this plan allows them to get in a complete semester.
While football is, obviously and appropriately, not driving these decisions, this schedule just so happens to fit well with the existing football schedule.
Most schools at the sub-FBS level are done by Thanksgiving anyway. FBS schools already conduct their Rivalry Week practices on an empty campus, and teams that reach bowl games and/or make deep playoff runs (at the divisional level) are accustomed to having campus to themselves while the rest of their peers take winter break.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.