A murky day for college football got a bit brighter for those who hope to see the sport on the field in 2020 as an ACC official told CBS Sports on Monday said the conference "absolutely" intends on playing this fall. The comment from a high-ranking source within the league came after an ACC conference call with athletic directors and a similar call involving university presidents.
"We are trying to move forward [with playing] absolutely," the ACC official said.
On Tuesday, after the season cancellations announced by the Big Ten and Pac-12, the ACC released a statement noting it will "continue to make decisions based on medical advice ... and do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities' academic missions." It continued: "We understand the need to stay flexible and be prepared to adjust as medical information and the landscape evolves."
Monday started with expectations that the Power Five might go dark this week. Big Ten presidents met Monday night and again Tuesday before ultimately postponing the college football season with hopes on playing in spring 2021. The Pac-12 shared similar sentiments on Tuesday.
"I don't know if there is a drop dead time period [to decide]," the ACC official said Monday. "We don't start play until Sept. 12 as a league."
The ACC announced its amended schedule last week with its first games being played the week of Sept. 7.
"[Canceling football in the next couple of days] could happen for some leagues," the ACC official said Monday. "I'm not sure it's going to happen in the Atlantic Coast Conference."
The ACC presidents met again on Monday night.
Four of the 10 FBS conferences -- the Big Ten, Pac-12, MAC and Mountain West -- have already canceled fall sports. UConn (independent), Old Dominion (Conference USA) and UMass (independent) have also opted out of playing college football this fall. There are 77 of 130 FBS teams (59%) still set to play at this time.