Memphis adjusts football practice schedule, will resume Wednesday after one-day break.
After losing to Cincinnati last week, Memphis will look to regroup before hosting South Florida on Saturday (11:00 a.m., ESPN+).
But the Tigers will also take time Tuesday to exercise their civic duty as voters.
The NCAA announced in September that all Division I programs must give athletes the day off from all athletically related activities on the first Tuesday after Nov. 1, starting this year. The rule came after NCAA president Mark Emmert encouraged schools in June to do so following Georgia Tech making Election Day an off day for athletes and staff.
The Tigers (3-2, 2-2 AAC) adjusted their practice schedule this week so that they’ll practice Monday evening before resuming practice Wednesday.
Monday has traditionally been an off day. While some coaches around the country had concerns about game week plans being interrupted, Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield wasn’t one of them. Once players arrived back on campus in June for workouts, he began the process to help get players registered to vote.
“We had computers set up where they go in and register from away because a lot of our student-athletes aren’t directly from Memphis, so we knew that on Election Day, that would be hard for them,” Silverfield said last week. “So a lot of absentee ballots were filled out, a lot of things done electronically to help the process.”
A Memphis spokesperson said 76 Tigers players registered for the first time.
Quarterback Brady White added that with the team taking a stand against racism and social injustice, it made getting registered and educated on the voting process a greater priority.
“I think it’s our responsibility and our duty as citizens and people of this country to get that done because I think you can’t have the mindset of ‘Oh, my voice is not going to be heard, my vote doesn’t count,’” White said. “Yes, it does, especially in this day and age. We need everyone to do what they can.”
It’s also another way the Tigers have organized to use their voice this year. Memphis athletes led two Unity Walks in June and September against injustice and racism.
The Tigers are also wearing helmet decals this season for both Black Lives Matter and the Memphis State 8, the first Black students to integrate the university.
“We want them to be able to voice these opinions and understand what it means to have the ability to vote, and then whoever they decide to vote for, just the power of having that choice is so important,” Silverfield said.