TCU football gearing up for June 15 return, players excited for some normalcy
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati hasn’t heard any concerns from football players about returning to campus for voluntary workouts on June 15. Instead, Donati said, there is a sense of excitement.
“Everything I have heard has had a ton of genuine excitement about getting back to some normalcy,” Donati said.
TCU plans to welcome its players back to campus on June 15, the first day the Big 12 is allowing its schools to do so. Oklahoma announced Tuesday that it wouldn’t welcome players back until July 1.
Every program and school is free to manage and handle the circumstances as they feel best fit amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Donati said TCU has laid out plans should a player contract COVID-19. There will be designated campus housing to shelter and quarantine players who test positive.
TCU has had four people test positive for the virus since moving to online-only classes in mid-March. Three were construction workers on campus and one was a student.
As far as the football program returning to campus, Donati said there will be a significant amount of testing done on players and staff to ensure the safest environment possible.
“Our plan is to begin reporting on June 15 and will phase everyone in over at least a few days,” Donati said.
The remaining fall sports athletes (volleyball, soccer and cross country) are eligible to return July 1 with winter and spring sports having a July 15 target date.
TCU welcomed back a few of its employees to campus on Tuesday as part of its “Phase 1” on reopening the campus, including the entire football staff.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
