UT Austin announces new fall procedures concerning home football games, parties and class sizes

UT Austin is getting ready to welcome back students for the fall semester, with changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas at Austin's fall semester begins on August 26th with students taking classes online, hybrid and in-person. Outside of academics though, UT is a college known for tons of school spirit, its strength in athletic support, and of course fans.

"The safety of our student-athletes, fans, visitors, and staff is our top priority," Drew Martin executive senior associate AD for external affairs said.

On Monday, Texas Athletics announced its plans to implement a variety of practices at sporting events this fall, specifically for home football games, including a video link where Martin went over a few of those plans.

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"We’re requiring face masks for all staff and fans upon arrival on campus, safety and cleanliness matter now more than ever," Martin adds.

Fans will be required to enter at the assigned gate listed on their mobile ticket. There will be social distancing markers in place, and the clear bag policy will remain in place. There will be more than 30,000 sanitizing stations and cleaning staff assigned to each restroom to monitor cleanliness throughout the game. Mobile only-ticketing will reduce contact.

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"We’re also putting a pause on in-venue giveaways and actions that would cause a clustering of fans," Martin adds.

Texas Athletics says additional details will be announced in the weeks leading up to the September 5 home opener against USF.

Large groups seem to be in question, considering the CDC strongly advises against large gatherings, in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

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UT requests students quarantine before returning to campus

There’s only about one month to go before the university welcomes some students back for the fall semester. Still, concerns over how to keep COVID-19 from spreading have yet to go away. 

UT students received an email on Friday from the VP for Student Affairs and Dean of Students saying parties on and off-campus will not be permitted; any students who violate this will be subject to disciplinary action.

Ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s University meeting, this online overview says no more than 40% of seating will be occupied in assigned classes, and students are required to self-quarantine for 14 days before their first on-campus interaction or class.

To learn more about UT Austin's reopening plans, click here

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