San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Big 12 tries to mitigate COVID-19 realities
Some suspend workouts while others continue
AUSTIN — In Kansas, two Big 12 programs already have shut down voluntary football workouts. In Texas, four of the league’s 10 teams are trying to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic in one of the nation’s hardest hit states. In spots such as Ames, Iowa, and Morgantown, W.Va., the number of positive tests remain low as student-athletes continue to train.
Just as every state has felt the effect of the novel coronavirus in distinct ways, so, too, have college football programs scattered across Big 12 country, which stretches from Austin to Ames and from Lubbock to Morgantown.
Since June 15, when healthy players were allowed to begin voluntary on-campus strength and conditioning work with trainers after an on-boarding process, Iowa State has reported four cases of COVID-19 among 160 student-athletes and staffers who were tested. West Virginia has announced just two positive tests, which automatically trigger a 14-day quarantine period for the infected players, coach or staff member.
But neither school that resides in Kansas has fared well despite implementing numerous precautionary policies and procedures.
Kansas State suspended voluntary workouts the same week it began after 14 players tested positive for COVID-19. The university hopes to allow players to return to the field after July 13 as long as the
outbreak does not worsen.
“The kids saw the numbers and saw 90-for-90 (negative tests), and I know they relaxed,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said during an ESPN appearance. “I think we probably all relaxed and said, ‘Good, we’re over a big hurdle.’ But that hurdle became a lot bigger because what kids do on a Friday night and a Saturday and being around their friends and going to the lake and wherever else kids go is something we can’t control.”
Friday, Kansas joined the Wildcats in shuttering its voluntary workout operation for football players. KU announced 12 football players and four other athletes had tested positive, with 45 student-athletes currently in quarantine.
The Jayhawks won’t resume conditioning activities for at least 14 days.
“When we welcomed our young men back to campus a couple of weeks ago for voluntary workouts, even with the policies and procedures in place to try and protect them from becoming infected with the virus, events outside of our control has made the decision to pause these workouts necessary,” Kansas coach Les Miles said. “Our trainers and doctors will remain in daily contact with each of the student-athletes that tested positive to support them and what we hope will involve only minor symptoms if any.”
Texas and Baylor also have struggled to keep down the number of infections.
In Waco, 13 football players have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 20 cases in all are being monitored.
And since the first group of 108 Longhorns returned to campus the week before voluntary workouts began, 13 players have tested positive for COVID-19, and 10 more have had to self-quarantine.
Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte also noted no coaches or departmental staffers had tested positive, and there are no plans to suspend conditioning activities at this time with the July 13 start date for on-campus basketball and volleyball workouts inching closer.
“The number of new cases has leveled off, and those student-athletes remain in self-isolation,” Del Conte said. “In addition, several of the student-athletes who previously tested positive completed their 14 days of self-isolation, have been cleared and are being prepared for return to activity. At this point, there are no indications that student-athlete cases have been traced back to campus workouts.”
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are dealing with a similar number of cases compared to the two Kansas schools, though neither has ceased operations yet.
Earlier this week, OSU revealed 14 football players tested positive for COVID-19 in June, though only one case remains active. A few days later, OU announced 14 football players and two staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
Two players have recovered, and 12 cases remain active.
And those numbers came in even after Oklahoma decided to wait until July 1, two weeks past the Big 12’s announced date, to re-open its facilities for voluntary football workouts July 1.
“As of right now, we are going to do quite a bit of surveillance testing with our players and staff,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said Friday during a Zoom conference call. “We are going to keep that up. We don’t want anything to creep in here that we don’t know about. We are going to be aggressive about testing.”
The only Big 12 school that has not publicly released any COVID-19 testing numbers is TCU, though coach Gary Patterson revealed special assistant Jerry Kill, 58, had recovered from the coronavirus.
“We haven’t had an outbreak,” TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Frankly, right now we have 200 kids on campus, and it’s taking up a lot of our day. So what’s it going to be like when you’ve got 10,000 kids running around? That’s going to be every university’s challenge this fall.”
Texas Tech, at least, seems to be trending in the right direction from a numbers perspective. Tech this week announced zero new positive cases and noted all 23 football players and staff members who previously contracted the virus are now recovered.