The 2019-20 intercollegiate athletics season ended abruptly when student-athletes were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and coaches were left wondering what would happen to their programs. Even though schools eventually decided to either cancel fall sports or postpone them until the spring, student-athletes were still welcomed back to campuses so they could resume organized training this fall.
The only sport competing this fall has been Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS)-level football with all the “Power 5” conferences (Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern) participating. Division I men’s and women’s basketball commenced on Nov. 25 with teams playing five or fewer non-conference games and with an early start to conference season.
All athletic programs are following strict health protocols including frequent COVID-19 testing, social distancing, mask wearing as well as hand washing and sanitizing. Travel guidelines, locker room procedures and dormitory rules have also been instituted.
“We did education around the return,” says Darryl Conway, senior associate athletic director and chief health & welfare officer at the University of Michigan. “It started with the coaches, making sure they were involved in the process. Then a lot of Zoom calls with the student-athletes to understand what was being done. Then, we had Zoom calls with each team’s parents … and gave them the opportunity to ask questions and really understand what the protocols are.”
On the field
In addition to guidelines from the NCAA and the Big Ten, Michigan developed some of its own safety protocols with campus health services, faculty members in the sciences, athletic trainers and people in facilities management.
The first group of Michigan student-athletes returned to campus on June 15. From there, it was a gradual return. Football and men’s and women’s basketball began training in June too, and starting July 6, the Olympic sports started returning. By the last week of August, approximately 920 student-athletes had returned. A few opted out of the fall semester.
