6/18/2020 football Edit

D1 Council approves preseason/summer plans for football, basketball

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

Wednesday, the Division I Council approved models for summer athletic activities for men's and women's basketball and summer activities and preseason for practice during a virtual meeting.

“The Football Oversight Committee worked hard to create a model that balances the proper precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the need for an acclimatization period to safely return to play,” said Council chair M. Grace Calhoun, the athletics director at Pennsylvania. “The Council members believe approving this model is a positive step forward for the sport.”

FREE PREMIUM ACCESS UNTIL TRAINING CAMP — CLICK HERE FOR MORE!!

For Rutgers, which opens its 2020 season on the gridiron on Sept. 5 at home against Monmouth, it may have up to eight hours of weight training, conditioning, and film review a week (no more two hours of film work) starting on July 13 to July 23.

Then, from July 24 through Aug. 6, the Scarlet Knights can have 20 hours per week of countable related activities per week (no more than four hours per day) such as up to eight hours per week of weight training and conditioning, up to six hours a week for walk-throughs with a football, up to six hours per week for meetings that may include film, team meetings, position meetings, and one-on-one meetings. The student-athletes must have at least two days off during that period.

Training camp can begin on Aug. 7 with a five-day acclimatization period, followed by the opportunity for up to 25 practices.

Rutgers players arrived this past Monday, June 15, for voluntary workouts.

A dead period for recruiting remains in affect through July 31.

As for basketball, both men's and women's, voluntary athletic activities and up to eight hours of virtual nonphysical activities started up on June 1 and that will continue through July 19.

Rutgers men's basketball head coach Steve Pikiell recently said he hopes to get his team on campus for voluntary workouts starting on June 22 and that is still the plan according to the athletics department.

Starting on July 20, required summer athletics activities can begin and last for a duration of eights or until the start of classes or Sept. 15, whichever comes first (Rutgers starts the fall semester on Sept. 1). Virtual and in-person activities cannot go longer combined for eight hours per week.

“The Council worked to balance the desire to get student-athletes training again with the need to repopulate our campuses and athletics facilities gradually and safely, within all campus, local and state mandates,” Calhoun said. “Student-athlete health and safety should remain a top priority.”

For information on proposed recruiting calendars for the fall for men's and women's hoops, click here and here.