Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Sun Belt Conference announced the fall sports season will be delayed until September 3 due to the threat of the coronavirus. The conference announced the decision on Thursday morning.

The first permissible date for competition will be September for the upcoming 2020-21 academic year.

“This delay will allow conference members additional time to implement protocols for a safe return to competition,” The SBC said via a statement on Thursday. “The Sun Belt Conference and each member institution will continue to lean on the COVID-19 Advisory Panel, which has worked diligently to establish protocols and guidelines that will ensure the health and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and staff as they return to play.”

The statement also read that rescheduling of contest due to the adjustments will be determined by each member institution.

Fall sports include football, cross country, soccer and volleyball. The Troy Trojans football team was originally scheduled to open the season on Labor Day weekend when they were to host Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but due to the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s suspension of fall athletics, the Trojans are left to weigh other options.