NC State’s planned season-opening Sept. 12 football game at Virginia Tech has been moved to Sept. 26, the schools and Atlantic Coast Conference announced Wednesday. The Wolfpack will now instead open their season at home on Sept. 19, hosting Wake Forest.
“We appreciate the ACC and Virginia Tech working together in partnership to move this game to a mutual open weekend,” NC State director of athletics Boo Corrigan said in a release. “There’s no blueprint for what we’re all trying to navigate and we are grateful for everyone’s collaboration to make this work.”
NC State suspended all athletic activities on Monday because of a cluster of positive COVID-19 tests within its athletic department. According to figures provided by senior associate athletic director Fred Demarest, the latest round of 693 tests produced 22 new positives among the Wolfpack’s athletes, coaches and staff members. It was not specified which teams have been affected.
The ACC mandates a 10-day quarantine for those testing positive and a 14-day quarantine for those coming into contact with some that have tested positive, making the team’s originally scheduled game at Virginia Tech — just 17 days away — a difficult proposition for the Wolfpack. Both teams had scheduled by weeks on Sept. 26, making the schedule change an easy solution.
“The ACC created a league schedule with flexibility to adjust games if needed,” NC State football coach Dave Doeren said in a release. “There are going to be times teams must adjust based on what is best for the health and safety of the players and staffs involved. This move provides our team and staff the time needed to prepare and reacclimate after pausing our practices.”
Meanwhile, in a letter to season ticket holders, Corrigan announced that season tickets for the 2020 season have been suspended. NC State said in its release that no decisions have been made on how many people will be allowed to attend games at Carter-Finley Stadium, but that games would “operate at reduced levels for the 2020 season.”
Whatever tickets that might be available will be sold on a single-game basis only.
