UW’s Alvarez reiterates that questions still need to be answered for Big Ten
MADISON – Big Ten Conference athletes remain sidelined, waiting to learn when their next contest will be, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet that hasn't stopped the league from generating drama – and some unsightly headlines – day after day, week after week.
The chaos continued Thursday when two prominent football coaches, Ohio State's Ryan Day and Penn State's James Franklin, expressed their frustration over the lack of communication regarding the league's attempts to fashion a revised 2020 football schedule.
Nebraska President Ted Carter opined: “It's time for the Big Ten to put out a plan.”
Any plan constructed by the Big Ten's Return to Competition Task Force will have to be approved by the Council of Presidents and Chancellors. That group reportedly voted, 11-3, last month to shut down all fall sports because of concerns over the pandemic. Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa voted to play.
“While I understand the Big Ten Conference's decision to postpone the football season because of health and safety considerations, the communication of information from the Big Ten following the decision has been disappointing and often unclear,” said Day, who is pushing for an October start, in a news release Thursday. “However, we still have an opportunity to give our young men what they have worked so hard for: a chance to safely compete for a national championship this fall.
“I couldn't possibly be prouder of how this team, our medical personnel, athletic director and president have stayed together and managed through this extremely difficult time with so many unanswered questions. The Big Ten medical subcommittee has done an excellent job of creating a safe pathway toward returning to play in mid-October.”
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, who is the chairperson of the Return to Competition Task Force, briefed the UW athletic board last week on the efforts to get football up and running and addressed the topic again this week on his radio show.
Alvarez painted a nuanced picture regarding the ability to ease the medical concerns shared by most of the league's presidents and chancellors.
“Before the presidents and chancellors give us the go-ahead to play,” he said, “they're going to have to feel comfortable that the medical questions that they had, the things presented to them by our doctors in the Big Ten, that they're answered.
“It's as simple as that. It's not some magical date or who does the best lobbying. Questions have to be answered. And we're getting more questions answered with testing.”
Acquiring a COVID-19 test that is rapid, accurate and inexpensive has been a priority for league officials. The Omaha World Herald reported Thursday that Nebraska officials plan to set up a coronavirus testing lab at the school's Athletic Performance Lab.
The plan is to conduct rapid-response, point-of-care antigen testing currently used in professional sports. That would allow Nebraska to administer tests to players, coaches and staffers from both teams the night before a game and get immediate results.
Alvarez has noted several times the league's goal is to test players before all practices and games.
“If we could do something like that throughout the league,” he said on his radio show, “then you guarantee every game will be (clean) …
“Things change every day. I can't tell you how some things have changed in the areas I'm involved in. You have some type of test, then you have something better. Then you can't use it.
“Or all of a sudden there is somebody testing positive. You've gone along for a month without any positive tests and – boom! – students come back and you have a handful. Then with contact tracing you've got 20 (athletes) that are sitting and different sports that are quarantining.
“Every day is a struggle.”
UW officials are struggling to contain rising COVID-19 cases on campus.
Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced Wednesday that in-person classes would be suspended through Sept. 25, with online teaching starting Monday. Coincidentally, UW officials announced they were shutting down football and men's hockey workouts for two weeks.
Alvarez noted he believes head coach Paul Chryst and his staff would need three weeks to prepare players for a game. A three-week window would push UW through Oct. 17.
The league's Council of Presidents and Chancellors could revisit the issue early next week – after being presented a schedule model and medical information.
“We've worked with Fox,” Alvarez said of schedule talks with the league's primary TV partner. “We've had a number of different models. We've let Fox take a look at (them). There are some that we like and some that make sense.
"But the first thing that has to be done is for our presidents and chancellors to be comfortable.”