Miami Hurricanes AD Blake James says NC will be Temple, UAB or Wagner
Miami Hurricanes athletic director Blake James stated that the one nonconference game in football during the 2020 season will be one of the originally scheduled home games against Temple, UAB or Wagner.
As announced by the ACC on Wednesday the Miami Hurricanes will have a new 10 game football schedule for the 2020 season. The conference has done away with the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions for the 2020 season and Notre Dame will play a full 10 game ACC schedule and compete for a conference title in 2020.
Miami athletic director Blake James on Wednesday night stated that the Hurricanes will retain one of their three non-conference games that are scheduled against Temple, Alabama-Birmingham or FCS Wagner. The Miami Hurricanes were scheduled to open the season on September 5 against the Owls.
The ACC announcement on Wednesday included the full conference schedule that will begin no earlier than September 7. The Hurricanes are scheduled to host Wagner September 12 and UAB September 19. The entire schedule will look primarily different in 2020 than it would have been before the announcement on Wednesday.
James issued a statement on Wednesday night discussing the football schedule, the decisions made by the ACC and how the Olympic sports will proceed this fall. James also discussed the potential of fans at games and negotiations between the Miami Hurricanes athletic department, the Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium officials.
"An Update from the Director of AthleticsDear Hurricanes Family,I hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy as we all continue to do our part in facing the challenges of this global pandemic.There has been considerable conversation over the past five months surrounding the resumption of college sports. The Atlantic Coast Conference Board of Directors – comprised of the chancellors and presidents of all 15 member institutions – has today approved a plan that calls for all ACC fall sports to begin competition during the week of September 7-12. I would like to update you on how that will impact Miami Athletics.For football, the season’s first games will take place the week of September 7-12. Each school is scheduled to play a total of 11 regular season games – 10 against ACC opponents plus one non-conference game. The non-conference game must be played in the home state of the ACC school.There will be no Atlantic and Coastal Division alignment this season. The plan is for the top two teams in the overall conference standings to meet in Charlotte, N.C. on either December 12 or December 19 in the ACC Championship Game.The 2020 ACC Football week-by-week schedule and television selections will be released at a later date but we do know our home and away conference opponents, which are as follows:Home: Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Non-Conference Opponent TBDAway: Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Virginia Tech, Wake ForestWe continue to work with the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and local and state officials on stadium capacity scenarios for our home football games. Once a capacity plan has been finalized we will notify all season ticket holders of their options as soon as possible.In addition, the ACC announced that fall Olympic sports competition may begin on Thursday, September 10, which for UM includes our cross country, soccer and volleyball teams. Team sports will play a conference schedule that meets the NCAA minimum amount of games — six for soccer and 10 for volleyball. Those schedules will also be announced at a later date.Rest assured we continue to make the health and safety of our student-athletes the top priority in our daily operations. We worked closely with University and UHealth administrators to develop our return to campus plan and I am proud of the way our staff has tirelessly worked to ensure we are following health and safety protocols throughout our facilities as our student-athletes in multiple sports have returned for approved summer activities.Now more than ever, your continued support of Miami Athletics and our mission to Build Champions is critical. Our student-athletes have persevered through a year like no other in the history of college sports and we want to do everything we can to minimize the impact on their overall athletics, academic and cultural experience at The U.We appreciate your patience as we have diligently worked through the parameters of returning to competition. If you have any questions, please reach out to a member of our staff. We will also continue to provide timely updates on our official website – miamihurricanes.com – and social media channels.Thank you again for your support and Go Canes!Blake JamesDirector of Athletics"
No timetable was announced on Wednesday when a full schedule will be released. James did not indicate which of the three scheduled teams on the original 2020 non-conference schedule Miami is leaning towards. The new schedule is very challenging for Miami. The Miami Hurricanes were not scheduled to play Clemson until 2022.
The new schedule could be the future of college football. The ACC will likely move to nine conference games per season sometime in the next few seasons. Home and home with other Power Five schools will likely become more prevalent as money becomes tight over the next few seasons.
College athletic departments are going to have to find a way to become more creative financially with the loss of revenue caused primarily by the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Basketball Tournament. With nine non-conference games in the future at the least expect one home and home with another power five team annually.