North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham (formerly at Tulsa)  said UNC will start the football and other fall sports without fans at home games because of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.

Cunningham said the restriction will last through September for football, men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, volleyball and cross country. Tailgating has been banned. Cunningham hopes to allow fans in October, but only after school officials and medical experts say it is safe.

Former Texas football coach Mack Brown is the head coach for the Tarheels.

The school canceled all in-person undergraduate classes in favor of online-only instruction after multiple coronavirus cases emerged on campus when students returned for the fall semester.