As the United States continues to face the novel coronavirus pandemic with no significant guidance from the Trump administration, states and cities have operated with a number of different guidelines (or lack thereof) in order to contain the virus and keep people safe. As colleges have begun reopening for in-person classes, we’ve seen spikes in coronavirus cases leading to campus quarantines and semester closures. Related to colleges, people have hotly debated whether college athletics—and particularly Big Ten college football—will resume amid the pandemic. As of Wednesday morning, the Big Ten presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to resume the football season the weekend of Oct. 24, as reported by the Star Tribune.
As of now, the conference plans for an eight-week season, with a Big Ten championship scheduled for Dec. 19. Daily testing is set to begin Sept. 30. And of course, Donald Trump is happy to take credit for influencing the conference’s decision.
First, here’s how the testing is supposed to go down. According to the conference’s news release, the Big Ten will require that all student athletes, trainers, and coaches have antigen testing every day, with those test results coming in before each practice and game. If a player tests positive, they will also take a PCR test to confirm the result. They will consider the team’s positivity rate in relation to the local community.
If a player tests positive for the virus, they can’t compete for a minimum of 21 days. In addition to the pause on playing, they will have to undergo cardiac testing including a cardiac MRI, biomarkers, ECG, and echocardiograms. Cardiologists will have to clear student athletes before they can play again. The focus on cardiology is likely because heart inflammation (known as myocarditis) is a significant concern—even in coronavirus-positive athletes who did not require hospitalization—based on recent studies. You can check out a deeper dive on that study courtesy of my colleague Mark Sumner here.
Games will be held on college campuses likely without fans in attendance. Of course, given how many schools have already seen students partying both off- and on-campus, fans potentially getting together to watch games is still concerning.
Along with relentlessly calling for schools to reopen, Trump has also rallied for football to come back. During his live town hall on ABC News on Tuesday night, even Trump said: “I’m pushing very hard for Big Ten, I want to see Big Ten open … let the football games … let them play sports.” He, of course, credited himself for having “helped” on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Why such an interest in the Big Ten? Probably the fact that it’s an easy political talking point for him, given that big election battleground states include places like Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Is college football enough to sway a voter? Hopefully not, but given that we’re living in a global pandemic, big decisions affect not just our long-term electoral standing, but everyone’s health in the meantime.