South Carolina governor: No college football if COVID-19 surge continues

Gov. Henry McMaster said he won't allow college or high school football to be played in South Carolina if the number of coronavirus infections continues to increase quickly in the state.

"If these numbers continue to rise and the danger persists, I can't do it," McMaster said during a press conference Wednesday, according to Kirk Brown of Greenville News. "I won't do it."

While many businesses in South Carolina have been allowed to reopen, McMaster doesn't plan to apply the same policy to high school and college football if current conditions don't improve.

"That means this fall will not be like other falls," the governor said. "We will not be able to have college football. We'll not be able to have high school football."

As of July 1, South Carolina has registered 37,809 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus and 759 confirmed deaths. The state's total number of confirmed cases increased by more than 1,500 from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Clemson recently announced that 43 student-athletes tested positive for the coronavirus in June, including 37 football players.

High school football in South Carolina is expected to begin in late August, while college football starts in early September. The University of South Carolina is scheduled to play its first home game of the season Sept. 5, with Clemson's home debut set for the following week. The Gamecocks and Tigers are set to play six combined games in the state in September.