Big 12 Announces Antigen Testing Partnership

On Friday, the Big 12 announced an antigen testing partnership with Virtual Care for Families, a company that will facilitate COVID-19 testing the day before athletic events

STILLWATER -- The Big 12 has announced an antigen testing partnership with Virtual Care for Families, a company that will facilitate COVID-19 testing for Big 12 athletic programs the day before athletic events.

The testing program will utilize Quidel Rapid Antigen tests which allows for 15-minute results and batch testing capabilities.

“Partnering with Virtual Care for Families provides a turn-key solution to antigen testing and ensures consistent, Conference-wide protocols,” said Big 12 Executive Associate Commissioner Edward Stewart.

This is the description of Virtual Care for Families in the Big 12 release.

Virtual Care for Families delivers online medical care, where patients can talk directly to a physicians and licensed providers over video from their phone, tablet, or computer. This enables patients to quickly consult with an online provider without leaving their home (even if they don’t live near one of our urgent care clinics). This service is available in schools, for k-12 students, colleges, for districts and college partners and includes telemedicine services, COVID-19 testing, strep, flu and other diagnostics for both students and student athletes. Virtual Care for Families also provides COVID-19 testing for employers who wish to return to the office, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Virtual Care for Kids is powered by Urgent Care for Kids which is the largest pediatric urgent care chain in Texas with locations throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin, TX areas.

The Big 12 announced before the start of the 2020 season that football programs would be required to test for COVID-19 three times a week, with each team having to find companies that can administer the tests.

It appears that multiple tests each week and keeping the players, coaches and staff out of the general population is working. Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard tweet out Friday morning that over 200 COVID-19 tests were administered prior to competition, football and soccer athletes and staff, and all tests came back negative.

Final COVID hurdle cleared - 202 @Big12Conference COVID tests this morning of football & soccer athletes and staff, all negative, let’s play!

— Jamie Pollard (@IASTATEAD) September 11, 2020

However, in a release from Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations, the Cowgirls' Bedlam season opener against OU in Norman has been postponed due to the number of positive tests on the OU exceeding the "Big 12 Conference's minimum standard for competition."

As for Cowgirl soccer, they've had just five positives COVID-19 tests since coming back on campus in late July.

Hopefully the multiple tests per week, as well as the new Big 12 partnership with Virtual Care for Families, will allow programs to catch positive cases early before they can possible spread cases throughout a program to help eliminate postponements.

Postponements that have now affected two games for Oklahoma State Athletics. Cowboy football had to postpone the season opener against Tulsa as the Hurricane had a rash of positives, forcing the coaching staff to cancel several practices in the first three weeks of fall camp.