Schools in California still have not been cleared by public health officials to resume contact practicesGETTY IMAGES
The Pac-12's "'most aggressive' return plan" for competitive sports in the fall is "currently targeting mid-to-late November," according to a source cited by Heather Dinich of ESPN.com. The conference earlier this month "announced its partnership with Quidel Corporation" for rapid-response coronavirus testing for student-athletes. While the new testing systems "will be on every campus by the end of the month, the league still expects to need a short time to train staff how to use them, and ensure the proper testing protocols are in place." Schools in the states of California and Oregon "still have not been cleared by public health officials to resume contact practices, let alone games." The conference's presidents and chancellors "wouldn't consider a vote to return until that status changes." A source said that "ideally, the Pac-12 would like its teams to have six weeks to practice and physically prepare for the season." Late November "could be more realistic considering the double crisis with the pandemic and wildfires that continue to singe the Pacific Northwest" (ESPN.com, 9/14).
KEY DIFFERENCES: In San Jose, Jon Wilner writes the three NFL teams in California "long ago received exemptions from the state, in large part because of their ability to test players on a daily basis." But the Pac-12's testing plan "isn't identical to the NFL model," it is "better." Univ. of Washington football physician Dr. Kimberly Harmon, who also is a member of the conference's medical advisory team, said, "From a theoretical perspective, it's a very high bar, and you could argue that what we're doing is a higher bar [than the NFL]." The 49ers opened at home on Sunday, but 15 minutes up the road, Stanford is "prohibited from having more than two players touch the ball on any given play." Sources said that the "key difference in the level of state restrictions ... is the testing." With their "immense resources, NFL teams can conduct daily PCR tests to prevent the spread or the virus." In contrast, the Pac-12 teams "have been unable to test players daily." But that "will change when the Quidel antigen tests arrive" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 9/15).
