The American Athletic Conference will make Election Day a day free from all athletic activities and competitions, it announced Wednesday afternoon.
“The right of every citizen to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy, and the ability of our student-athletes to exercise that right and civic duty is enormously important,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement released by the conference. “I applaud our schools for removing any potential impediments to voting, and for supporting the participation of our student-athletes in the celebration of our republic.”
In addition to the off day for most of its schools, the AAC will work with with members of its Racial Equality Action Group and its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to help its student-athletes register to vote as well as provide them with information to educate them on early voting protocols as well as absentee ballot requirements and deadlines.