Power 5 Conferences to Release Universal COVID-19 Testing Standards

College football players who test positive for COVID-19 this fall will be required to miss at least 10 days of competition, and that number is even higher—a full two weeks—for those who are found to have had contact with a person who tested positive.

Power Five conferences are working together to create a minimum testing standard for COVID-19. 

As first reported by Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, a six-page document is circulating among Power Five conferences outlining the plans for coronavirus testing. 

College teams will be required to test football players within 72 hours of games using the standard PCR test. Game officials in football and basketball should also be tested weekly, because of their close contact with athletes, the document says. The document, however, does not require tests for coaches, though staff members must wear a mask on the sideline if they are not tested in the same way athletes are. As for other high-risk sports, athletes should be tested within 72 hours of the first game of a week’s set of games.

If a player tests positive, he will sit out for at least 10 days of competition. If an athlete is found to have been in contact with someone who tests positive, that player will sit out for a full two weeks. 

The six-page document outlines weekly in-season testing requirements, response protocols for positive tests, contact-tracing plans and considerations for game cancellations. 

“This document is meant to guide institutions in the minimum necessary requirements needed to participate in athletics in the coming year,” the document reads.