Louisville monitoring COVID-19 cases around the ACC
Louisville athletics monitors coronavirus numbers beyond the city of Louisville and the state of Kentucky.
With Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams located in 10 different states, the conference spans in several different regions of the eastern United States. The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced last week to move to a conference-only football schedule in 2020.
Several ACC schools like Miami and Boston College are located in COVID-19 hotspots, which could become a travel risk for opposing schools if the spread continues.
Guidelines and practices for universities varies by state based on government officials and medical professionals.
Louisville began returning student athletes to campus last month and has performs weekly COVID-19 testing for players and coaches.
“We are somewhat spoiled with UofL Health, we have access to tests and we have quick turnarounds,” Tyra said. “Usually our tests are coming back within hours, whereby we have some schools in the conference in the Carolinas that have difficulty, not so much the tests, but the turnaround of the tests results.”
Tyra and the athletic department will continue to monitor the phased return to campus for student athletes
“We have had great success with our return to campus, not every school has,” Tyra said. “It is a worry when large student bodies get back to close quarters on a campus.”
Tyra doesn’t foresee football season kicking off on time if confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to rise. He said the plans for the 2020 football season are being developed with the thought of more stable conditions.
Beyond football, Louisville’s travel to conference competitors’ campuses becomes more difficult with budgetary restrictions for plane flights.
“It’s difficult for us in our location, we aren’t exactly driving distance in this conference to many of these schools,” Tyra said.
