NCAA approves extended football preseason
The path toward the 2020 college football season became much clearer on Wednesday, when the the NCAA Division I Council approved a recommend preseason schedule set forth by the Football Oversight Committee.
Tennessee, along with the rest of the football programs in the SEC, have been back on campus since the first week of June. Players began voluntary strength and conditioning workouts June 8, doing so in small groups of eight to remain as socially distanced as possible — three players tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return and self-isolated.
The plan approved Wednesday called for those voluntary workouts to continue through the middle of next month. From July 13-23, teams will be allowed to require up to eight hours of weight training, conditioning and film review per week.
From July 24-Aug. 6, teams will be able to require up to 20 hours of athletic activities per week.
Those activities include weight training and conditioning (up to eight hours), on-field walk-throughs that include use of a football (up to six hours) and meetings, either film review, team, position or one-on-one (up to six hours).
Student-athletes will be required to have at least two days off during that two-week period.
The model makes no change to the normal 29-day preseason practice schedule, which will begin as originally planned on Aug. 7.
The NCAA'S Division I Council also approved a recommended path toward summer workouts in that sport on Wednesday. According to the proposal from the men's and women's basketball oversight committees, teams will be able to continue holding voluntary workouts through the end of June. From
July 1-19, they will be able to add team, individual and film review meetings to weight training and conditioning work, as long as it does not exceed eight hours per week.
Schools will be able to start holding required summer activities on July 20. Those activities can include on-court practices, though skill instruction cannot exceed four hours per week and the total amount of work (including weight training and conditioning) can not exceed eight.
That will continue through the start of preseason practice, which will be 42 days before the school's first regular season game.