ACC unsure if football teams could forfeit if unable to play due to COVID-19

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey caused quite a stir Monday when he said football games during the upcoming season "won't be rescheduled" for reasons related to COVID-19 and added teams could potentially be made to forfeit if unable to play. 

Per David M. Hale of ESPN, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips explained during Wednesday's media days session his conference hasn't yet decided on how to handle games impacted by coronavirus-related absences and issues. 

Similar to Sankey, Phillips strongly encouraged unvaccinated individuals to get their shots but also said the conference is leaving vaccine mandates up to the individual schools. 

"Personally, I believe vaccines are critical to the protection of all and achieving the goal of eliminating COVID-19 and its variants," Phillips said during his comments, "but I also deeply respect that it's a personal choice." 

The ACC's medical advisory group is expected to meet in the coming weeks to discuss protocols that could potentially lead to a team being unable to play during a week of the season. As of Wednesday, over half of the conference's football teams had crossed the 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold required for the removal of some virus-related guidelines. 

Elsewhere around college football, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban have both said their programs have exceeded the 85% vaccination mark.