NCAA issues more return-to-play guidelines

The NCAA on Thursday issued another set of recommendations for a prospective return to play during the coronavirus pandemic as cases surge around the country.

Notable recommendations include daily health checks, the use of face coverings and distancing measures and testing protocols — including testing and results within 72 hours in “high contact risk sports.”

Like football.

Conferences around the country have begun to cancel or postpone portions of their fall sports schedules. High profile leagues like the Big Ten and Pac-12 have canceled all of their nonconference football games in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus.

UNLV was supposed to play Pac-12 foes California and Arizona State this season at Allegiant Stadium.

“This document lays out the advice of health care professionals as to how to resume college sports if we can achieve an environment where COVID-19 rates are manageable,” NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. “Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic.”

The guidelines were developed by the NCAA’s coronavirus advisory panel and incorporated input from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, known collectively as the Power Five. They’re “designed to inform schools in responding appropriately based on their specific circumstances and in the best interest of returning college athletes’ health and well-being,” per the NCAA.

Recommendations say face coverings should be incorporated into competition whenever possible, and “universal” masking should take place on sidelines. Training also should take place outdoors whenever possible, and indoor training should be accompanied by strong ventilation.

“Any recommendation on a pathway toward a safe return to sport will depend on the national trajectory of COVID-19 spread,” Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, said in a statement. “The idea of sport resocialization is predicated on a scenario of reduced or flattened infection rates.”

The Big East joined the Big Ten and Pac-12 on Thursday, announcing league only schedules for fall sports. The Ivy League, Patriot League and MEAC of the Football Championship Subdivision have canceled the entirety of their fall sports seasons.

The Mountain West has not yet announced any plan for its fall season.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.