UMass will play 'limited' number of games this fall

The University of Massachusetts announced on Monday that it has reversed course and now plans to "play a limited number of football games this fall." 

UMass, an independent football program, originally canceled its fall season on Aug. 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their fall calendars that same day, but the Big Ten reversed that decision last week and declared it intends to have schools kick off on the weekend of Oct. 23-24. 

In Monday's statement, UMass explained that "a positive review of the football program's stringent COVID-19 safety protocols and rigorous testing regimen" led to the school reinstating a fall campaign. Opponents and game dates will be unveiled once they're official. 

Athletic director Ryan Bamford said: 

"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff has always been our first priority. Since returning to campus in June, the members of our football program have been vigilant in following the policies and safety protocols instituted by the state, our university and athletics department, helping us reach a high level of confidence that we can safely conduct a truncated season this fall. Further, our recent work to generate a schedule in the spring semester, similar to our other fall sports, indicated that fall 2020 provided the best opportunity for our football student-athletes to take the field this academic year."

UMass added that fans won't be permitted to attend home games this fall. Season ticket holders will be contacted and given additional information. 

Per the school, the UMass football program has only returned two positive coronavirus results out of more than 1,800 tests over the past 13 weeks.