Syracuse Football student-athletes back on campus

SYRACUSE, N.Y » Members of the Syracuse University football program are back on campus and underwent testing for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning.

Tests were administered at the Ensley Athletic Center, a day after approximately 65 football student-athletes returned to Central New York to work with the program’s strength and conditioning coaches and access Syracuse’s athletic facilities for voluntary workouts. Approximately 130 student-athletes, coaches, football staff members and Department of Athletics staff members were tested.

Among them was redshirt senior offensive lineman Airon Servais (Green Bay, Wis.). A 2019 team captain, Servais is the Orange’s most experienced player with 37 career starts under his belt.

“It’s great to be back and get this thing rolling again,” Servais. “It’s not the same when you’re off on your own training versus when you’re able to be around the guys and feel that energy and feed off each other.”

Tuesday’s testing was the first step in the operational plan for Syracuse University Athletics to safely reopen the weight room at the Iocolano-petty Football Complex and other training facilities to allow football studentathletes to begin working out. The plan, which has been developed in alignment with guidance provided by public health and government officials, includes a phased approach to reintegrating team members with one another.

Student-athletes have been grouped into small “pods.” They are allowed contact only with members of their pod, including staff assigned to their pod, during this first phase. In the second and third phases of the plan, which are likely to be implemented in July, the smallgroup pods will grow in size, first to include up to 30 student-athletes and then, eventually, entire units and ultimately the full team.

To minimize the risk and potential spread of the virus, several additional operational protocols are in place. Social distancing measures will be enforced and protective equipment, including face masks, will be used in all athletic facilities. Masks may not be required during workouts, but student-athletes are expected to maintain social distancing of at least six feet while in the facility. All shared equipment will be cleaned and sanitized prior to and after each use by each student-athlete.

Servais said he fully understands the need for strict safety measures. He is appreciative of what is being done to keep him and his teammates safe.

“You can see it here today. There’s a protocol we have to follow,” Servais said. “We’ll start out in small groups and then branch out past that [in the coming weeks]. But I feel like the University has taken a lot of good measures to help keep us as safe as possible.”