USC announces phased return of student-athletes for voluntary workouts
Following most of the rest of college football, USC has now given the green light for its athletes to return to campus for voluntary workouts, with the start of the phased return beginning Wednesday.
The first phase will only include local athletes who live within an hour of campus, from the football, women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's water polo, men's basketball and women's basketball teams. No on-campus housing will be provided during phase one.
Per USC's news release, phase two would begin July 6 "only upon the successful completion of phase one" and allow for non-local athletes from those six sports to return. Those phase two athletes would have the opportunity to reside in USC's on-campus housing.
And then if everything stays on track, phase three would be targeted for July 13 for new and incoming athletes in those sports, with on-campus housing provided.
The return of student-athletes to campus comes with the following specified protocols:
-All student-athletes will be required to complete a pre-participation checklist.
-USC’s athletic medicine staff will make the final determination on a student-athlete’s clearance to participate in voluntary workouts.
-All student-athletes must participate in a COVID-19 health and safety protocol information session, complete the university’s TrojanLearn training module, sign a risk and shared responsibility acknowledgement form, pass their annual pre-participation physical and undergo COVID-19 testing.
-Following their initial COVID-19 test, student-athletes will be tested weekly.
USC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman and Director of Sports Medicine Dr. John Brodhead were involved in developing the health and safety plan that is compliant with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and approved by university administration, per the release.
The USC release also reiterates that returning at this time is voluntary for student-athletes and if they choose not to their financial aid would not be in jeopardy.
Return to campus dates for student-athletes in the other sports have yet to be determined.
“We approached this process with extreme patience, prudence, and the utmost regard for the health and safety of our student-athletes, taking time to learn from the experiences of our peers to refine our plans and processes," USC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement. "We worked diligently to develop a comprehensive plan that enables our student-athletes to voluntarily return to USC to participate in workouts should they choose to do so.
"After a devastating few months, we are thrilled for them that they will be able to come to back to campus to do what they love and continue their preparation for their upcoming seasons. With this return, we will continue to follow and adapt to all federal, state, county and university regulations, as well as recommendations from the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC Athletics’ medical director. We understand that for various reasons some student-athletes may choose not to participate in voluntary workouts. We are fully supportive of the choices made by our student-athletes and their families.”
The Pac-12 had previously announced schools could have student-athletes return for voluntary workouts as of June 15, which many did.
USC held a Zoom call with at least the football parents last week to go over a potential summer/fall camp schedule that, per NCAA rules, would allow the staff 8 hours to work with the players from July 13-23, 20 hours from July 24-Aug 6 and the targeted start to fall camp on Aug. 7. That fall camp start date is consistent across college football.
But, of course, all dates and schedules remain tenuous and subject to change as this process plays out.
Regarding the phased return at USC, in addition to student-athletes, only essential staff (strength coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers, facilities/operations staff) will be allowed access to facilities during voluntary workouts. Those essential staff members will also undergo COVID-19 testing.
From the press release: Prior to departing for an athletic facility, individuals must pass a daily symptom questionnaire. Upon arrival at the facility, they will have their temperature checked at a designated checkpoint based on their scheduled appointment time. Individuals will be required to wear face coverings, practice physical distancing, sanitize their hands regularly, wear a daily wristband indicating their approved entry and remain in their assigned areas. There will be no access to the locker rooms, showers or players’ lounges, or to off limit floors in the McKay Center, Galen Center and Heritage Hall.
Upon their arrival to the facility, student-athletes will place any mode of transportation (scooter, skateboard, bike) in a designated area, toss their laundry from the previous day in a laundry bin, place their personal belongings in an individually assigned basket and retrieve their personal water bottle and towel for that day.
Upon exiting the facility, student-athletes will sanitize their hands and equipment, drop off their personal baskets, towels and water bottles, retrieve a clean laundry loop for their next voluntary workout, remove their daily wristband and pick up their grab-and-go meals and nutritional supplements.
The McKay Center weight room will be divided into two areas, with a limit of eight players in any area at one time (plus a strength coach and an athletic trainer). Equipment will not be shared and will be cleaned and sanitized after each group. The athletic training room will be accessible for rehab by appointment only. Field workouts for football players will be allowed on Howard Jones and Brian Kennedy Fields, with proper distancing. All meetings with coaches will be virtual through the end of June.
Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will receive medical treatment and isolate consistent with L.A. Department of Public Health guidelines. Quarantine housing will be provided through USC Student Health. They cannot return to any athletic facilities until medically cleared. USC will conduct contact tracing and those who have come in contact with positive individuals will be quarantined.
“The reality is that we expect to have positive tests and outbreaks in our university community, including in Athletics,” said Dr. Van Orman. “We have been very thorough in planning for such occurrences and to prevent the spread of the virus. Our medical and planning team has done an outstanding job in preparing protocols and procedures for a variety of scenarios related to COVID-19. We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our USC community.”
Said Bohn: “The decision to return to campus for voluntary workouts is a very personal one. Those returning have a responsibility to protect our community at all times, not only when they are working out. We expect them to adhere to all standards and restrictions in our restart plan so that their fellow student-athletes and our entire community remains safe and healthy.”