Will college football be played this fall? TCU AD remains confident despite virus spike
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati remains confident that college football will be played this fall. More questions about the viability of playing a season continue to be raised, though, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Kansas State shut down voluntary workouts for 14 days on Saturday after 14 players tested positive for COVID-19. The University of Texas has had 13 positive tests so far. Baylor announced Monday that it had eight positive tests (four symptomatic, four asymptomatic) out of 109 tests. Powerhouse programs such as LSU and Clemson are dealing with increased numbers too.
“I am still confident we will play this fall. We all anticipate positive tests and the possibility of having to isolate individuals,” Donati said. “Our protocols are solid and well thought out. Managing that will be our reality this year.”
TCU has not released football-specific numbers as to how many players have tested positive for the virus. Voluntary workouts started June 15.
The university has 36 positive cases, including six with direct on-campus impact. Of those six individuals with direct impact, three are students, two are contractors and one is an employee. As a note, there are students on campus other than football players this summer.
With coronavirus numbers spiking at various schools and in different parts of the country, contingency plans for the football season remain a talking point among college administrators.
The Big 12 has considered moving the conference football championship game back a week from Dec. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, according to a report by Chuck Carlton in The Dallas Morning News.
That would allow member schools to have a built-in makeup week if regular-season games were disrupted by the pandemic.
“I am in favor of anything that allows us the best opportunity to complete a full 12 game schedule or as much of the schedule as possible,” Donati said.
TCU is scheduled to open its season Sept. 5 at Cal.
For teams that start on Sept. 5 such as TCU, voluntary workouts will run until July 13 when football activities can begin. On July 24, meetings and walk-throughs are allowed and the pads can come on Aug. 7 for the start of fall camp.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
