Dear Carolina Community,

Thank you for your continued support – for our student-athletes, for our coaches and for all of our Carolina Athletics staff – over the last two months. The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged all of us in ways we could never have previously imagined, and it has been inspiring to see the positive ways we have faced this challenge together.

This week, our University published its Carolina Together website detailing the path forward for students, faculty and staff to return to campus for the academic year. We do not yet know how many fans we may be able to welcome to competitions. We are planning for our sports teams to compete — with numerous safety precautions in place.

With that goal in mind, and guided by our University’s protocols, Carolina Athletics next week will begin to phase the return of staff, coaches and student-athletes. This coordinated process will allow us to clean and sanitize our facilities, educate our student-athletes and staff about precautions and expectations, acclimate back to full workouts, and in many cases test for the COVID-19 virus. Details and updates can be found here.

The timeline for return:

June 1 — Facilities staff members

June 8 —Sports Medicine staff

June 12 —Coaching staffs for Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball

June 12-July 1 —Football student-athletes, in four separate groups (June 12, 19, 26, 29)

June 15 —Strength and Conditioning, Equipment and Administration staff members

June 22 —Coaching staffs for Field Hockey, Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Cross Country

July 6 —Men’s and Women’s Basketball student-athletes

July 13 —Field Hockey, Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Cross Country student-athletes

August 3 —Coaches and student-athletes from the remainder of our teams, and remaining department staff members

All student-athletes from Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Field Hockey, Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer and Cross Country, as well as members of those sports staffs, will be tested for COVID-19 at least twice – once when they arrive, and again 7-8 days later. As part of our safety precautions, team members will be housed together, and will be instructed to follow strict guidelines for social distancing and standards in and outside of our facilities We will continue to evaluate testing and safety protocols for the Winter and Spring teams scheduled to return at the same time as the student body.

We also continue to review individual plans for each of our facilities, units and 28 sports teams. Our spaces are unique, and needs and timelines for our student-athletes and staff vary across competition seasons. Face masks, cleaning products and hand sanitizers will be available across all of our facilities, and we will require everyone to conduct a daily self-health review before coming to work. Please read and remember our community standards for wearing face masks, physical distancing, hygiene and cleaning practices. Additional cleaning and sanitizing protocols will be in place, and it is everyone’s responsibility to contribute to a healthy and safe atmosphere.

As this situation continues to evolve, we will continue to update our plan and protocols, and we will post new information to our web page as it becomes available.

It has been outstanding to watch the way our student-athletes, coaches, staff and community have joined together, even from afar, to teach, learn, mentor and support each other during this time. Let’s continue to help each other stay safe.

We look forward to having you back on campus soon.

Sincerely,

Bubba Cunningham

Director of Athletics

University of North Carolina