NC State's football season opener against Virginia Tech has been postponed due to recent COVID-19 outbreaks.
The game originally scheduled for Sept. 12 will be moved to Sept. 26, per an announcement by the ACC on Wednesday. NC State stopped all athletic activities after 27 people tested postive within the athletic department this week.
The ACC's 11-game fall schedule includes non-conference opponent Notre Dame. The Wolfpack will now open the 2020 football season on Sept. 19 against Wake Forest. No word from the university on how many positive cases are related to the football program itself.
NC State flipped from in-person learning to online instruction on Monday after reporting three new cluster of COVID-19 cases on campus. The North Carolina Division of Public Health defines a cluster as a minimum of five cases that are deemed in close proximity or location of eachother.
"We appreciate the ACC and Virginia Tech working together in partnership to move this game to a mutual open weekend," NC State director of athletics Boo Corrigan said in a statement. "There's no blueprint for what we're all trying to navigate and we are grateful for everyone's collaboration to make this work."
"There are going to be times teams must adjust based on what is best for the health and safety of the players and staffs involved," NC state coach Dave Doeren also said in a statement. "This move provides our team and staff the time needed to prepare and reacclimate after pausing our practices."
NC State reported 45 new positive tests among students on Tuesday, bringing students cases to a total of 501 since March.