NCAA reportedly votes to allow football and basketball team activities to resume on campus

The path back to college sports is reportedly set to begin.

As first reported by Yahoo! Sports, the NCAA Division 1 Council voted Wednesday to allow voluntary athletic activities for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball starting on June 1 through June 30.

That doesn’t mean every athlete in those sports will be back on campuses across the country. For instance, the Big Ten currently has its own moratorium on team activities that goes through May 31. It would have to let that expire for teams to take advantage of the NCAA’s decision. If the conference did that, it would be up to those in charge, including local government and leaders within each schools’ administration, to decide whether to move forward.

A number of universities, including Ohio State, were already planning to bring its athletes back on campus at the start of June. The Buckeyes actually opened up their football facility for select staff this week. Officials say restrictions will be put in place to lower the risk of players and staff getting sick. All of the workouts must be arranged by the athletes and no coaches can be present.

It’s unclear what Wisconsin will do if presented the opportunity. The campus in Madison has been closed since March and is scheduled to stay that way through at least June 30. Also, as a result of the financial fallout from COVID-19, a large portion of the athletic department is working reduced hours, while nearly every other department is experiencing furloughs.