LOGAN, Utah – Following the Mountain West’s revised plan for fall sports that was announced Wednesday, Utah State football is pushing back the start of its fall camp to Monday, Aug. 24. Leading up to that, Aggie players will continue with strength and conditioning, meetings and walkthroughs.
“With the start of the season being delayed, the best course of action for the well-being and protection of our student-athletes, is to push back the start of fall camp to August 24, which will allow us to continue to make up for lost time in our off-season training cycle,” said USU head football coach Gary Andersen. “With our first game now being on Oct. 2, this schedule will give us one traditional week of camp before school starts. Although it is unconventional to be in school during fall camp, this calendar will allow for sufficient time to get ready for a season that starts in late September.”
The current plan is for Mountain West sponsored fall sports to begin competition no earlier than the week ending Sept. 26. The football season will be comprised of an eight-conference game schedule with an option for each member to play two non-conference opponents, if they choose to do so.
“While we are disappointed for our student-athletes, coaches and Aggie fans that we won’t have a full regular season opportunity for our fall teams (cross country, football, soccer and volleyball), we are encouraged about playing a full Mountain West schedule in each of these sports,” said USU Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hartwell. “The health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff is, and always will be, our No. 1 priority. We are appreciative of the continued dedication and perseverance of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and supporters through the challenges created by COVID-19.”
With Wednesday’s announcement, Utah State will tentatively begin its 2020 season at BYU on Friday, Oct. 2, and begin Mountain West play the following weekend with its current schedule. USU will work with Southern Utah to try and find a new date for its game that was originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12.
Further decisions regarding safety standards related to Aggie football, tailgating and other game day activities, including social distancing, face covering and other health measures consistent with CDC, state and local guidelines, will be announced at a later date.
Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at instagram.com/USUAthletics.