This page includes a list of all pertinent stories regarding Virginia Tech Athletics and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For more information on the University's response to the pandemic, click HERE

Due to the requirements set forth by the Commonwealth of Virginia, attendance at all football games in the month of September is limited to 1,000, inclusive of the family of student-athletes and coaches for each team. Thank you for your patience as we continue to navigate the situation. We will provide another update as soon as possible.

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020, 12:30 p.m.

To follow the public health guidelines and ensure the safety of Virginia Tech's student-athletes, staff, and fans, all Olympic fall sports at Virginia Tech will compete without fans in attendance until further notice. Tech volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer matches will be played without spectators, while only essential staff and family members of the student-athletes will be allowed in attendance.

To read the full release, click here. SEPTEMBER 12, 2020, 8 a.m.

After consultation with Atlantic Coast Conference officials, our counterparts at the University of Virginia, campus leadership at Virginia Tech and Dr. Mark Rogers, Chief Medical Officer for Virginia Tech Athletics, the mutual decision has been made to move the football game between Virginia Tech and Virginia at Lane Stadium to a later date stemming from COVID-19 issues at Virginia Tech.
 
Virginia Tech will pause its football practices for four days. 
 
Virginia Tech is now scheduled to open the 2020 football season on Saturday, Sept. 26 against NC State at Lane Stadium. Updates will be provided should any further changes to the 2020 schedule be deemed necessary.

To read the full release, click here. SEPTEMBER 4, 2020, 12 p.m.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its fall Olympic sports schedules on Friday. The announcement follows the previous release on plans for football and fall Olympic Sports on July 29 and applies with enhanced health and safety protocols of the ACC's Medical Advisory Report.

To learn about specific sports and for the full release, click HERE

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SEPTEMBER 1, 2020, 5 a.m.

As part of ongoing conversations focused on preserving public health, Virginia Tech and the Town of Blacksburg will prohibit tailgating during the fall season in university and town parking lots and public spaces.

This decision applies to football games, as well as all other fall sporting events, including soccer, volleyball, and cross country.

For the full release, click HERE.
  AUGUST 28, 2020, 3:30 p.m.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today several enhancements to the protocols within the league's Medical Advisory Group Report. Increased testing and additional cardiac evaluation standards are two specific areas that have been refined in the report.
 
As was previously announced, the ACC's Medical Advisory Group has been meeting weekly since the spring to share information on the impact of COVID-19 on ACC campuses and intercollegiate athletics. The MAG report was first released on July 29 (ACC Announces Plans for Football and Fall Olympic Sports) and outlined minimum standards for each campus to follow in the areas of testing, reporting positive test results, and protocols for cleaning and sanitizing competition areas.

For the full release, click HERE.
  AUGUST 26, 2020, 12:15 p.m.

Virginia Tech Athletics Statement

"After consultation with Atlantic Coast Conference officials, our counterparts at NC State and our campus leadership at Virginia Tech, the mutual decision has been made to move the football game between Virginia Tech and NC State at Lane Stadium to Saturday, Sept. 26. Virginia Tech is now scheduled to open the 2020 football season on Saturday, Sept. 19 against the University of Virginia at Lane Stadium. We will continue to provide updates should any further changes to the 2020 schedule be deemed necessary." 

ACC Release

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that the NC State at Virginia Tech football game will be rescheduled for Saturday, September 26. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, September 12.

The rescheduling follows the positive tests and subsequent quarantining of student-athletes within the NC State football team. The conference and team are adhering to the outlined protocols within ACC Medical Advisory Group report, which is available on theACC.com. 
 
For the full release, click here.
    AUGUST 21, 2020, 1:45 p.m.

As of Thursday, Aug. 20, we have received 1,210 responses from Hokie football season ticket holders as part of the initial launch of the Keep Jumping campaign. Our team is humbled and grateful to report that 231 of those accounts have elected to keep their ticket and donation contribution in 2020.

Additionally, 710 accounts have chosen to credit their accounts to 2021, and of that group 49% (348 accounts) have opted to keep their donation in the current year while crediting their ticket purchase for future games.

Your collective generosity is inspiring, and we thank you for your contributions on behalf of Virginia Tech student-athletes, coaches, and staff.

To read the full letter, click HERE.
  AUGUST 17, 2020, 3 p.m.

Virginia Tech Athletics and the Hokie Club announce the launch of the "Keep Jumping" campaign - an initiative created to help navigate the financial impact of COVID-19 on Virginia Tech student-athletes, coaches, staff, and associates. While the athletics department will face unprecedented challenges this year, one thing remains the same - the strength of Hokie Nation when it comes together to support one another. 

"The 'Keep Jumping' campaign is vital for our department this year," said Director of Athletics Whit Babcock. "While we have taken measures to remain fiscally responsible during this time, we still need your support for over 550 student-athletes who call Blacksburg home. We remain 100% committed to our student-athletes, providing them with the resources they need for success while continuing their education at Virginia Tech."

For the full release, click HERE.
  AUGUST 6, 2020, 9 a.m.

The Atlantic Coast Conference released revised schedules for its member schools on Thursday. Virginia Tech and other ACC schools will play 10 conference games in 2020, along with one non-conference foe. 
 
Tech's ACC home opponents include Boston College, Clemson, Miami, NC State and Virginia. The Hokies will travel to Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Pitt and Wake Forest. The Hokies will open the 2020 campaign at home against NC State on Sept. 12. It will mark the Wolfpack's first visit to Lane Stadium since the Hokies registered a 28-13 home victory in 2015.
 
The Hokies will retain their non-conference matchup with Liberty. That will now be played at Lane Stadium on November 7. The Hokies and Flames have met just once before, the first game of the Justin Fuente era at Virginia Tech in 2016, a 36-13 victory for the Hokies.

For the full release, click HERE.
  AUGUST 5, 2020, 12 p.m.

The NCAA Board of Governors has directed schools and conferences to meet specific requirements if they are to conduct NCAA fall sports during the preseason, regular season and postseason. Further, each division is directed to determine its ability to meet those requirements to conduct fall championships.

For the full release, click HERE
  JULY 31, 2020, 1 p.m.

Hello Hokies,
 
As you have hopefully seen by now, the ACC and its member institutions took a bold stance earlier this week in regards to competing in fall sports, including the announcement of a 10+1 football scheduling model. Due to the rapidly changing nature of everything required to compete in these contests, there is still a great deal of information being worked on behind the scenes as we continue to prepare for an incredibly unique season.
 
We want to update you and have chosen to break it down into two categories to make a complex problem as straightforward as we can at this point - WHAT WE KNOW and WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON. Please bookmark this page as we will be updating it regularly and will identify when the last update was made at the top of the page. Please know that the information on this page will be fluid, cannot possibly be exhaustive at this point, and will be updated as often as we receive new information. 

FAQ PAGE

For example, what we know is that we have a 10 game conference schedule and one-non conference game per this model. In that same vein, what we do not know yet is the exact schedule for those games.
 
Similar to many programs across the country, we do not anticipate being able to welcome capacity crowds at Lane Stadium this fall and expect that reduced capacity will be required in all of our venues this year. We do not have that exact percentage at this stage and, truly, if we pick a number today, it could likely change over the next few weeks. However, we have been working on various models for months and will share them with you as soon as we have concrete information which will allow our team to finalize the decisions and refine the process. As mentioned earlier, we will do everything possible, in accordance with state/national/conference guidelines, to play. 
 
For all of these reasons, we continue to ask for your patience. We will be measured in our communication so that we can provide larger amounts of information instead of small snippets that do not pertain to the critical path forward, and we will maintain updates on the landing page referenced above so that we do not invade your inbox each time a new piece of information is available. 
 
As we've previously stated, once we know how seating will be affected, we will work with you to implement the program outlined including changing your ticket purchase to a donation, applying a credit to your account, or refunding your purchase. The reality is the financial challenges in front of us as an athletics program are real, and we will need your support now, as much as we ever have. 
 
We are all in this together. We appreciate you more than we can possibly express.
 
Go Hokies!
 
Brad Wurthman
Senior Associate Athletics Director, External Operations
  JULY 29, 2020, 4:30 p.m.

Virginia Tech Athletics Statement

We support the ACC's decision to proceed with a planned 10+1 model for the 2020 football season, as well as the plan for other fall sports. We will continue to follow standards established by the State of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Montgomery County public health officials as we continue our preparations. 

ACC Release

The ACC Board of Directors announced that if public health guidance allows, all seven ACC sponsored fall sports will begin competition during the week of Sept. 7-12. The announcement follows several months of discussion and scenario planning among the league membership and Medical Advisory Group. Each decision is based on the best available medical guidelines and coincides with our universities' academic missions. 
 
For the full release, click HERE
  JULY 13, 2020, 11:00 a.m.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference has postponed its virtual ACC Football Kickoff media event until further notice. The event was originally scheduled to be held July 21-23, 2020. Any future decisions and announcements will take place at the appropriate time.
  JULY 10, 2020, 3:41 p.m.

Statement from ACC Commissioner John Swofford:
"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators remains the ACC's top priority. As we continue to work on the best possible path forward for the return of competition, we will do so in a way that appropriately coincides with our universities' academic missions. Over the last few months, our conference has prepared numerous scenarios related to the fall athletics season. The league membership and our medical advisory group will make every effort to be as prepared as possible during these unprecedented times, and we anticipate a decision by our Board of Directors in late July."
  JULY 9, 2020, 11:52 a.m. - Original Release  

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today that each of its fall Olympic Sports will delay the start of competition until at least September 1. The decision allows each campus to further focus on ensuring return to competition protocols are in place to facilitate the resocialization process.
 
The delay in competition includes all exhibition and non-conference games in the sports of men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's soccer and volleyball.
 
The decision was unanimously approved by the ACC Board of Directors.
 
ACC institutions will continue with their respective return to competition protocols in anticipation of a fall season. Any rescheduling of contests will also be determined by each school.
 
The league continues to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on fall schedules and competitions with the understanding that there may be future changes, and that the priority remains the health and safety of our student-athletes.
  JUNE 30, 2020, 2:00 p.m. - Original Release
 
Hello Hokies,

As we wrap up the Hokies Football reseating process, our team felt it was important to provide a few key updates. While we are still gathering the necessary details to make final policies regarding the 2020 football season, there are a few critical pieces of information that we wished to highlight for our fans as you all are making decisions about what is best for you and your families. 

1. 2020 Football Season
   1. In conjunction with state and county governments, campus administration, and health officials, the percentage of capacity in Lane Stadium for this fall is still being determined. Our primary concern is the safety of student-athletes, fans, staff, and everyone associated with game days in Blacksburg. We are working to provide clarity on this as quickly as possible, however, each plan requires varying levels of detail and nuance to be effective. We are intentionally working on all options in order to provide the most complete plan we possibly can once we know the outcomes of the discussions, rather than providing partial information which may change frequently.  
   2. In the event that the 2020 Football season is altered, some of the information below will be adjusted.
2. New Season Ticket Orders
   1. Fans interested in purchasing new season tickets with specific seat locations may do so beginning mid-July online - HERE - and over the phone. At this time, the Ticket Office and Hokie Club remain closed to the public. 
   2. Season tickets start at $350 and range up to $450 depending on location. Gifts to the Hokie Scholarship Fund and the corresponding per-seat minimum gifts are in addition to the season ticket prices. Season tickets are still the only way to guarantee your opportunity to be included in the conversation surrounding admittance into Lane Stadium this fall should the allowable capacity be affected.
3.  Ticket Refund Policy
   1. As has been previously outlined, in the event that the 2020 football season is canceled, the options listed below will be available to season ticket holders. If this situation arises, additional details surrounding these options will be provided.
      1. Designate per-seat gifts and/or ticket payments as Hokie Club donations for the upcoming season.
      2. Defer per-seat gifts and/or ticket payments to the next football season.
      3. Receive a refund for the per-seat contribution and/or the cost of the ticket.
4. Other Ticket Packages
   1. At this time, only season tickets are available for purchase as details pertaining to the 2020 football season are being solidified.  The tentative plan is to release additional ticket packages (mini-plans, mobile passes, single-game seats) after we know the allowable capacity in Lane Stadium and the inventory available for fans. More specific on-sale details will be provided in the next few weeks. In the event that there are capacity restrictions, only season ticket holders would be part of the first wave of those eligible to attend games in Lane Stadium.
   2. For other ticket packages that may be of interest, please click HERE and register for information to be shared with you pertaining to these options. 
5. 2020 Basketball Season Tickets
   1. Typically, season ticket renewals for the basketball season begin in the spring. At this point, we have not started that renewal process amidst the uncertainty. Once there is clarity, the renewal timeline will be announced and will likely be shorter than it is in standard seasons, but payment plans will provide flexibility for season ticket holders. 

In summary, there are multiple factors at play in this process, many of which are outside of our direct control. Our goal remains the same - to provide a safe, wonderful experience at Virginia Tech Athletics events for all fans. Once we receive clarity on the percent of capacity allowed inside Lane Stadium, our team will finalize the various contingency plans we have in place and publish them approximately one week later, so that fans can make their arrangements to enjoy game day in Blacksburg. As was stated at the beginning of this letter, there are simply too many moving parts to address each topic individually until we are able to dissect the entire scenario and the corresponding answer. We look forward to seeing you this fall. 
  JUNE 1, 2020, 4:45 p.m. - Originial Release

BLACKSBURG – Following the standards established by the State of Virginia and Montgomery County public health officials, Virginia Tech athletics is preparing this week to open the Beamer-Lawson Practice Facility and the Steve Johnson practice fields for voluntary football strength and conditioning workouts.
 
"Our foremost priority continues to be the health and welfare of our student-athletes and staff, as well as the Virginia Tech and surrounding communities," said Dr. Mark Rogers, Chief Medical Officer for Virginia Tech Athletics. "We will continue to evaluate our protocols to ensure these workouts are conducted in strict adherence with current health and safety guidelines."
 
Rogers said student-athletes wishing to participate will undergo screening protocols prior to being cleared to participate and will be monitored on a daily basis. 
 
Small-group workouts supervised by Coach Ben Hilgart and his staff will be limited to the Beamer-Lawson Practice Facility and the Steve Johnson practice fields. The locker room and other common football areas will remain closed at this time. 
 
In conjunction with Mike Goforth and Tech's Sports Medicine team, all participating athletes and staff will wear recommended personal protective equipment upon entering team facilities. 
 
"An abundance of caution will be utilized to ensure all equipment is sanitized appropriately between workout groups," Rogers said.
 
Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said the staged return of student-athletes is one of the first steps in the university's plan to return to on-campus instruction this fall, along with in-person clinical programs and some research operations that are also preparing to ramp up this summer. 
  
"As our leadership team continues to plan for how our student-athletes will return to competition this fall, we recognize the need for them to have the support and facilities offered by the university," President Sands said.  "We are pleased to see our football players return in small cohorts and following the required public health guidelines. I have confidence that our Athletic Director Whit Babcock and his team will create the right training opportunity and welcome our student athletes with their safety and the entire community's well-being as a top priority."
  MARCH 12, 2020, 3:47 p.m. - Original Release

GREENSBORO – The Atlantic Coast Conference released the following statements on Thursday: 
Statement from the Atlantic Coast Conference
"The Atlantic Coast Conference has suspended all athletic related activities including all competition, formal and organized practice, recruiting and participation in NCAA championships until further notice. The decision was made following consultation with the league's presidents and athletic directors to mitigate the further spread of COVID-19."
 
Statement from ACC Commissioner John Swofford
"This is uncharted territory and the health and safety of our student-athletes and institutions remains our top priority. This decision is aimed to protect from the further spread of COVID-19."

Virginia Tech Athletics has remained in regular communication with University, ACC leadership and Virginia Tech Athletics Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Mark Rogers, to monitor developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

All measures have been taken with an abundance of caution for the health and well-being of Virginia Tech's student-athletes, staff, community, and guests as the priority. Virginia Tech Athletics will continue to take direction from the University and its COVID-19 task force that meets daily to assess the coronavirus situation and its effect on the campus and community, with recommendations from health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Virginia Tech Athletics appreciates fans' understanding and cooperation during this unusual time.
 
As the situation surrounding COVID-19 constantly evolves, any applicable updates will be posted as they become available on HokieSports.com, as well as on Twitter (@HokieSports).
 
The University has established a website that offers the latest information and guidance to the Virginia Tech community. For more information, please go to Virginia Tech COVID-19 Website
  
Virginia Tech Athletics is taking preventive measures under the direction of Dr. Mark Rogers. These include, but are not limited to:

• Cleaning and disinfecting of exposed surfaces.
• Posted reminders to cover coughing and sneezing and to frequently wash hands with soap and water.
• Providing hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility.

All individuals in the Virginia Tech community are strongly urged to observe the following recommendations:

• Stay at home if you are sick.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Thoroughly wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• If soap and water aren't available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60-95 percent alcohol.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Refrain from shaking hands, high-fives, and other close personal contact.