Tag: fall sports

Twelve Michigan State student-athletes test positive for COVID-19

In the latest testing period between August 29 to September 6, 12 student-athletes tested positive for COVID-19.

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The latest results from the last round of COVID-19 testing for Michigan State’s student-athletes are in and the results are.. not great (insert ‘not great, Bob’ Mad Men meme). Of the 197 COVID-19 tests performed between August 29 and September 6 on both students and staff members, 12 student-athletes tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus.

This is an increase of 10 positive test cases from the last round of testing results that came through last week. No staff members tested positive in this round of testing.

This is a story that fans should obviously keep an eye on as we march towards the presumed restart of Big Ten sports in the coming months.

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Report: Big Ten could vote as soon as Friday on fall football fate

According to a new report, the Big Ten might be voting on a fall college football start date as soon as Friday.

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It seems like, just as soon as the Big Ten passed the decision to postpone the fall college football season, rumors started swirling that this decision could be overturned. According to Dave Biddle of Bucknuts, that decisions could come sooner rather than later, with a potential vote happening as soon as Friday.

This news comes a few days after the Dan Patrick Show reported that the Big Ten Football season could start as soon as October 10th, as long as the conference can pass new safety guidelines and regulations.

This would be a pretty major u-turn for the Big Ten, which would certainly not help the confusion we have seen around the COVID-19 virus in this country and would certainly be a decision largely made around money, but I wouldn’t exactly complain to have Big Ten sports back.

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Dan Patrick: Big Ten could start football season October 10th

According to sources and information given to Dan Patrick, the Big Ten is possibly looking at an October 10th football season start date.

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Well, are you getting dizzy yet from all the rumors and speculation? On a day where a certain political figure tweeted out that he wants the Big Ten Football season to be played this fall, it looks like things have been set in motion to where that might actually happen.

The Dan Patrick Show account just tweeted out a report from a source that the Big Ten Conference is currently looking at October 10th as a start date for the football season if they can pass updated safety measures.

Big Ten commissioner did assert a few weeks back that the Big Ten would not be revisiting the decision to postpone football past the fall, but there were also reports today that Kevin Warren spoke with president Donald Trump regarding the postponement and the talk was “productive.”

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Report: Big Ten cancels 2020 college football season

According to sources of the Detroit Free Press, the Big Ten is officially canceling its fall football season.

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And there we have it folks. According to anonymous sources that were in communication with Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press, the Big Ten Conference will be canceling their 2020 college football season amidst safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic in America.

This decision was the result of a 12-2 vote from the Presidents of each Big Ten university on Sunday. Michigan State president Samuel Stanley was one of the presidents who voted in favor of canceling the season.

Multiple Spartans had already opted out of the 2020 season before this decision was made. Indiana offensive lineman Brady Feeney, who is currently suffering from heart conditions related to COVID-19, has been vocal, along with his mother, about the need for college football to take this threat seriously.

This was clearly a huge decision to make, which the conference delayed as long as they possibly could, and it has major financial implications, but at the end of the day the safety of college student-athletes rightfully took precedence over all else.

We will continue updating this story as more information is released and confirmed.

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Report: Big Ten Cancels Football in 2020

According to the Detroit Free-Press, the Big Ten has decided to not play football this fall.

In a report by the Detroit Free Press on Monday morning, the Big Ten has cancelled football for the fall of 2020.

The report states:

The Big Ten has voted to cancel the 2020 college football season in a historic move that stems from concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, multiple people with knowledge of the decision confirmed to the Free Press.

The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the decision. A formal announcement is expected to Tuesday, the sources said. 

The move by the Big Ten comes just two days after the Mid-American Conference canceled their football season and much of the feel is that most, if not all the other power conferences will cancel football for the fall before long.

The report adds that no decision has been made about the Big Ten potentially playing football in the spring.

Keep it tuned to Fighting Irish Wire and the USA TODAY wire sites for all of the latest on this developing story.

SEC announces COVID-19 testing and face mask protocols for Fall sports

On Friday, the SEC announced the new protocols regarding COVID testing and face masks for Fall Sports.

On Friday, the SEC announced the new protocols regarding COVID testing and face masks for Fall Sports.

This has been an area of focus that the task force has been meeting regularly about to try and come up with a solution that not only kept players safe, but also tried to keep Fall sports from having to be cancelled.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey shared in a news release that,

“Our Medical Task Force is producing an effective strategy for testing and monitoring, which complements the vigilant day-to-day efforts of our campuses to establish and maintain healthy environments in which our student-athletes can train and compete. Our health experts have guided us though each stage of preparation for the safe return of activity and, together with the medical staffs embedded within our athletics programs, we will continue to monitor developments around the virus and evolve our plan to meet the health needs of our student-athletes.”

Here are a list of new protocols and rules regarding testing and face masks that the SEC will enforce this fall:

TESTING

  • The SEC will coordinate centralized testing through a third-party provider to ensure consistency in surveillance and pre-competition testing. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the current standard testing method for the COVID-19 virus. Alternative testing methods may be considered if sufficient data develops to support those methods.

  • In the sport of football, student-athletes and others in direct contact with the program will receive a PCR surveillance test at least twice weekly during competition, typically six days and three days prior to competition. The Task Force recommends exploring alternative testing methods that will accommodate a third test, in addition to the two required PCR tests, that will provide for the reliability and rapid response necessary for diagnostic testing in a timeframe closer to competition.

  • In the sports of volleyball and soccer, student-athletes and others in direct contact with the program will receive a PCR surveillance test at least twice weekly during competition, with one to occur three days prior to the first competition of the week. The Task Force recommends exploring alternative testing methods that will accommodate a third test, in addition to the two required PCR tests, that will provide for the reliability and rapid response necessary for diagnostic testing in a timeframe closer to the first competition of the week.

  • In the sport of cross country, student-athletes and others in direct contact with the program will receive a PCR surveillance test at least once per week during competition, with that test to occur three days prior to each competition.

MASKING

  • In football, volleyball and soccer, all coaches, staff and non-competing personnel will be required to wear face coverings on the sideline and physical distancing will be employed to the extent possible.

  • In cross country, competing student-athletes are required to wear a face covering at the starting line, which may be removed when proper distancing has been achieved. Coaches and staff associated with cross country competition are expected to utilize social distancing to the extent possible and will be required to wear a face covering during pre- and post-competition.

GAME BALLS

  • Other than the game officials and participants, any individuals who will or may touch the
    game balls (i.e., footballs, soccer balls or volleyballs) during competition shall be PCR tested
    weekly, adhere to appropriate hand washing/hand sanitizing protocols and wear a face
    covering. Game balls that leave the competition area must be disinfected according to the
    ball manufacturer’s guidelines, prior to re-entering play.

The 12 page document from the SEC also goes over how individual Fall sports will conduct each game/competition.

The SEC also announced that each University will have a  COVID-19 Protocol Oversight Officer who is in charge of education and compliance regarding the new protocols.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you up to date with the very latest!

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SEC votes to honor scholarships of student-athletes who opt out of fall sports

With concerns over COVID-19, some student-athletes might decide not take part in sports this fall.

The Southeastern Conference announced on Friday that, if a student-athlete on scholarship decides to sit out for fall sports due to health or concerns over hazards involving the COVID-19, their scholarship will still be honored.

From the statement:

“Southeastern Conference student-athletes who elect to not participate in intercollegiate athletics during the fall 2020 academic semester because of health and/or safety concerns related to COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarships honored by their university and will remain in good standing with their team, the Conference announced Friday.

The action is the result of a unanimous vote of the SEC’s Presidents and Chancellors following a recommendation of the Conference’s Athletics Directors.

“SEC universities are committed to full support of its student-athletes, whether or not a student-athlete decides to participate in sports during these uncertain times,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.  “SEC student-athletes have frequently expressed their desire to compete, but it is important for student-athletes and their families to know the financial support committed to them by their institutions will not be at risk because of health concerns presented by the current pandemic.”

The SEC will continue to monitor developments related to COVID-19 to determine at a later date if the policy should be extended to the Spring semester of 2021 or beyond.”

NJCAA Moves Football to Spring 2021

Some have suggested college football move it’s 2020 season to the spring of 2021. Now one college sports organization is doing exactly that.

With these incredibly unique times we’ve all heard many different ideas and suggestions on what should be done with college football.

Some think it should just be a shorter season, perhaps only featuring conference games like the Big Ten and Pac-12 are planning on doing.

A while back The Athletic proposed a late-winter schedule for the 2020 football season that would actually be the first of two 2021 seasons.

Some have suggested moving football to the spring and one college sports organization announced Monday they’ll be doing exactly that this coming school year.

This from the National Junior College Athletic Association, released on July 13:

Release…

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Notre Dame 2020 Schedule: ACC to the rescue?

If every conference only plays conference games in 2020, what does it mean for Notre Dame? The ACC seems to be the Irish life raft.

The Big Ten announced Thursday that their 2020 football season will feature only conference games.  As a result there will be no Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, a game that was among the biggest non-conference match-ups set for the 2020 season.

Many anticipate more conferences to follow suit, which would leave Notre Dame in an extremely tough spot as an independent.  However, it appears the ACC is at the ready to bail out the Fighting Irish.

It makes all the sense in the world as Notre Dame already has six games scheduled against ACC foes this season as Wake Forest, Pitt, Duke, Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Louisville are all on it.

How exactly this would play out still very much remains to be seen.

For one, I don’t want just a six game season, although it would certainly be better than no football at all.  At least I think.

Would the ACC add Notre Dame to one of the divisions and then only play divisional contests?

What exactly things would look like very much remain to be seen and it’s an incredible brain exercise just to try and start to do it.

There will be more here at Fighting Irish Wire as the day and week goes on but for now, here’s to hoping we get any football at all.

NCAA chief medical officer: We can have fall sports

The NCAA chief medical officer said widespread testing will be critical to having sports in the fall. Dr. Hartline believes they can happen.

Football season is currently in the air at the moment, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. As things stand, Texas is scheduled to kick off their season against South Florida on September 5th.

Many schools have said their universities will be open for the fall semester and they will be ready for football season to begin on time. To do so, conferences and athletic directors need plans in place.

Talking to the Associated Press last week, Dr. Brian Hartline, the NCAA chief medical officer, said widespread testing will be critical to having sports come the fall.

“It’s not going to be risk-free, that’s for sure,” Hainline said. “If this is rolled out in stages and reasonably, we’re really paying attention to proper surveillance and we get the tests available, I think we can have fall sports. My concern is if we just rush into this too quickly because of this almost sense of desperation, that we just have to get going.”

Joined by other medical officers from professional sports leagues, Hartline was on a phone call with White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, outlining the possible steps.

“What we really discussed in some detail was: What is it going to take to get sport back? And I will tell you that 80% of the conversation centered around testing,” Hainline said. ”And more specifically, what happens in contact sports like basketball or football, when one of the players tests positive. Does that mean quarantine? Does that mean we do very regular testing?”

Hartline sounds optimistic the NCAA will have enough resources for collegiate sports to continue in the fall. The issue will be how many fans will be in the stadiums or arena if any.

“I think realistically having a football game with 90,000 fans, that would take a remarkable turnaround in a short period of time,” Hainline said.

Schools having students back in session in the fall will up the chance of a season happening. Universities cannot ask their football players to be on campus if regular students are not.

Football season could happen if widespread testing is available. While fans in the stands may be in question, any kind of sport, even if it is on television, will help during this pandemic.

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