Positive tests at athletic building on weekend of Arizona Bowl travel
A San Jose State University campus memo obtained by the Bay A rea News Group states that more than one person who tested positive for COVID-19 visited the school’s athletic facilities the day the football team flew to Arizona for its bowl game.
The memo that was sent to the San Jose State campus community on Dec. 28 by Matt Nymeyer, the school’s director of Environmental Health and Safety, and does not identify any individuals by name.
It states, “On Sunday, December 27, more than one individual who tested positive were reported to have visited the Simpkins Stadium Center and Campus Village C on December 25, 26 and 27.”
Ca mpu s V i l la ge C , known as “the Suites,” are student dormitories next to the main campus and about 1.5 miles from the football stadium.
The football team congregated at the stadium center on Dec. 27 before boarding six buses to Mineta San Jose International Airport to take charter flights to Tucson, Arizona, that night.
School officials did not immediately respond to questions about the memo.
At least six football players and the team’s offensive and defensive coordinators were absent from the Arizona Bowl game on Dec. 31. Ball State defeated San Jose State 34-13, to hand the Spartans their only loss of the season.
The school did not announce the missing person nel t hat i ncluded Mountain West defensive player of the year Cade Hall of Morgan Hill and star receiver Bailey Gaither of Paso Robles.
The missing players and coaches were announced by the Spartans radio broadcast. A school athletic department spokesman told this news organization before kickoff that he could acknowledge who was “not available” once the game began and that it “would be inappropriate to attribute ‘not available’ strictly to COVID-19 issues or protocols.”
The spokesman did not respond to a follow-up question once the game started.
After the game, coach Brent Brennan said he learned about the players’ and coordinators’ absences at “game time.”
On Dec. 27, the athletic
department spokesman declined to say if any members of the football program had tested positive from a nasal swab test taken the previous day. He also would not say if any members of the program would miss the trip to Arizona because of coronavirus-related issues.
The campus memo said it was informing the university community in compliance with CalOSHA. The memo added that the school’s COVID-19 case management team was conducting contact tracing for the cases.