STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is nearing a return.
Following the Southeastern Conference’s announcement last week that voluntary in-person activities can commence on June 8, multiple sources confirmed to The Dispatch this week that the school is planning for its 2020 football recruits to arrive on campus in late June before beginning classes in early July. MSU’s second summer term is scheduled to begin on July 6.
“The safe and healthy return of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and our greater university communities have been and will continue to serve as our guiding principle as we navigate this complex and constantly-evolving situation,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a news release last week. “At this time, we are preparing to begin the fall sports season as currently scheduled, and this limited resumption of voluntary athletic activities on June 8 is an important initial step in that process.”
In addition to the arrival of recruits, MSU Athletic Director John Cohen gave The Dispatch some slight insight into what testing protocols will look like once student-athletes begin arriving on campus next week.
Cohen told The Dispatch on Wednesday that student-athletes participating in in-person voluntary workouts will be tested upon arrival, though he would not disclose how frequently they would be tested subsequently and that costs associated with the tests would not be known until the summer. He also noted staffers who will work in proximity to student-athletes participating in those voluntary activities will have to endure a test.
“We’re getting a great deal of information,” Cohen said. “And we’re gonna make the best decisions we can based off the information we’re getting.”
Beyond precautionary testing, Senior Associate Athletic Director of Sports Medicine & Performance Mary McClendon has overseen the development of a plan for what will happen should a student athlete test positive for the coronavirus at some point in time. Cohen would not divulge the exact strategy, but assured that steps have been taken to be prepared should a positive test occur.
“A great deal of research has been put into it, and obviously we feel like Mary has a great plan in place if that happens,” he said. “And statistically speaking, it probably will happen at some point. We don’t want it to happen. We hope it doesn’t happen. But statistically, it probably does happen at some point.”
At the conference level, the SEC recommended the following measures last week to ensure the safety of student-athletes upon their return:
– A 3-stage screening process that involves screening before student-athletes arrive on campus, within 72 hours of entering athletics facilities and on a daily basis upon resumption of athletics activities
– Testing of symptomatic team members (including all student-athletes, coaches, team support and other appropriate individuals)
– Immediate isolation of team members who are under investigation or diagnosed with COVID-19 followed by contact tracing, following CDC and local public health guidelines
– A transition period that allows student-athletes to gradually adapt to full training and sport activity following a period of inactivity
The SEC also said practices and the way in which schools bring back student-athletes, coaches and other staffers will be up to its members. In-person camps and coaching clinics conducted by conference schools will also not be allowed until July 31.
“While each institution will make its own decisions in creating defined plans to safely return student-athletes to activity, it is essential to employ a collaborative approach that involves input from public health officials, coaches, sports medicine staff, sports performance personnel and student-athletes,” Sankey said. “Elements of the Task Force recommendations provided key guidance for determining the date of the return to activity.”
The Bulldogs are expected to open their season Thursday, Sept. 3 against New Mexico after a source within the MSU athletic department previously told The Dispatch there was a “90 percent” chance the season opener would be moved up from Saturday, Sept. 5. An official announcement of the schedule change has not been made to date.
The Football Bowl Subdivision conferences did release a joint statement alongside CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports and their affiliated networks Tuesday that all parties agreed to extend the standard June 1 deadline for determining college football’s early season kickoff times and network designations to an undisclosed later date.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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