Education

How College Sports Will Return To Normal


Full seasons cancelled. Games in front of empty bleachers. More nasal swabs than you could ever imagine.

Covid-19 derailed nearly every aspect of college athletics for the last 15 months but, like many areas of American life, the path to post-Covid life is becoming increasingly clear. Last week, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released guidelines for summer athletic activities in response to rising vaccination rates and declining Covid cases nationwide. 

The NCAA, based in Indianapolis, is a nonprofit membership organization that regulates college sports. Teams and their schools take its recommendations seriously but they are also subject to local health department and government directives. 

The NCAA document recommends that fully vaccinated student-athletes forego masks and physical distancing during summer athletics. Additionally, it sets forth an 85% immunity benchmark for teams to reach. That is, if 85% of student-athletes and athletics staffers achieve immunity through vaccination or prior infection, then masking and distancing are no longer necessary. 

The organization announced in April that fully vaccinated student-athletes would no longer be required to undergo routine Covid-19 testing. 

The changes are certainly welcome at athletic programs across the country, as college sports since the start of the pandemic have been a mess, to put it nicely. Due to a complicated and decentralized power structure, fall sports in different divisions and conferences met wildly different fates in 2020. 

Division II and Division III councils cancelled their fall sports championships, while the Division I council went forward with fall sports—sort of. Despite all fall sports championships moving to the spring, many Division I fall sports trudged along in the fall, including football. Of the major athletic conferences, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Big 12 Conference played relatively normal football schedules, while the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12) and Big Ten Conference cancelled fall football in August, only to decide to play a shortened season a month later. The Ivy League cancelled all sports for the 2020-21 academic year. 

Some student-athletes decided not to play at all last fall, including two dozen Big Ten football players. Among those who opted out is former University of Illinois running back Ra’Von Bonner, who cited his asthma and mental health. “I just didn’t think it was worth the risk, both mentally and physically,” he said. He has since transferred to Temple University.

College sports over the last year gave a  splitting headache to those tasked with leading programs through the pandemic, including Jeanne Doperak, team physician at the University of Pittsburgh and ACC Covid-19 medical advisory group member. She describes her experience as being like “playing the longest game of Jenga.” 

“There were so many pieces, and we’re pulling these pieces out and it felt like we were just to the point where we would be in good shape and the whole tower would fall,” she says.

Despite Covid protocols, the virus hit student-athletes hard. A May JAMA Cardiology study revealed that 30.4% of Big Ten athletes tested positive for Covid-19 through December 15, compared to 10.2% of Americans. 

The easiest way for college sports to return to before-times is to vaccinate as many athletes as possible. Some teams are struggling to convince their student-athletes to get their shots and are nowhere near the 85% threshold. A few Division I football teams reportedly sat below the 20% mark as of mid-May.

One way athletic programs and the NCAA are trying to convince student-athletes to get vaccinated is to emphasize the benefits. Jay Clugston, team physician at the University of Florida and NCAA Covid-19 medical advisory group member says that dropping surveillance testing and mask requirements in team settings is “a big incentive” for student-athletes.

Fall sports will undoubtedly feel more normal than in 2020. Stadiums across the country will welcome back fans at full capacity. Bonner, who has received his first dose, said he is “definitely gonna feel safe going into the season.” 

Reaching the 85% benchmark remains a concern for many programs, but as some schools make vaccines mandatory for all students, that will obviously help.

Still, the primary lesson learned from last fall is to be ready for the unexpected. Otherwise, the Jenga tower may tumble.





READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.