The ACC made sure yesterday that there will be no cheering on conference campuses to interrupt the nation's stunned silence.
In light of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, ACC commissioner John Swofford announced that all conference stadiums and fields will remain dark until Friday.
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic events of [yesterday] morning," Swofford said in a press release. "All nine ACC member institutions are in agreement that the next couple of days should be a time for reflection and prayer for the families of those who are involved in this tragedy."
All games involving ACC teams will be on hold until Friday. Clemson will postpone all athletic events until Saturday, and Duke and N.C. State will suspend games through the weekend. In all, 18 games and two tournaments have been postponed or canceled.
The ACC announced that N.C. State's football game against Ohio, originally scheduled to begin tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m., will be played Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. ACC officials have not yet determined a makeup date for Virginia's football game against Penn State that originally was scheduled to begin tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
"Our concerns are for the safety of our participants and fans, both in travel and in assembly, and respect for the aftermath of these terrible events," Swofford said.
According to a press release, the fates of future ACC contests will be decided in a conference call between Swofford and league officials today.
"At this time it's hard to even think about athletic contests," North Carolina Director of Athletics Dick Baddour said in a press release.
In addition to tomorrow's football game, the only other Virginia athletic event affected was the volleyball team's match at Georgetown. The match was scheduled for last night at 7 p.m., but was postponed when Georgetown officials closed the school.
The players on the volleyball team "were glad they were not going and sad about what went on," Virginia volleyball coach Melissa Aldrich Shelton said. "Some girls have friends and family up there [in Washington, D.C.]. We have some alumni in New York. One girl's father was headed to the Pentagon before all this broke."
Aldrich Shelton held practice yesterday but allowed her players to talk about the tragedy before taking the court.
"I think the physical activity will be good to get the adrenaline out that I'm sure has been building up all day," Shelton said.
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