Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1294210
the conference," said Northwestern president Morton Schapiro, chair of the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancel- lors and chair of the Return to Competi- tion Task Force steering committee. "We appreciate the conference's dedication to developing the necessary safety pro- cedures for our students and the com- munities that embrace them." Athletes, coaches, trainers and other on- field personnel were set to undergo daily antigen testing beginning Sept. 30. The results of those tests must be completed and recorded before every practice or game. Athletes who test posi- tive will be given a poly- merase chain reaction test to confirm the initial result. Any athlete with a confirmed positive test will be required to sit out for at least 21 days. He will undergo a full cardiac evaluation and must be cleared by a car- diologist before he will be allowed to re- turn to practice. The Big Ten has established three cat- egories – green, orange and red – to help guide decisions about whether to continue practices and games. Teams with a positivity rate of 2 percent or lower (based on the number of positive tests divided by the total number of tests administered) fall into the green category. The orange category repre- sents teams with a rate of 2 percent to 5 percent, and the red category is above 5 percent. The Big Ten will also monitor popula- tion positivity rates, which are calcu- lated by dividing the number of positive tests by the total population that's at risk – players, coaches and support per- sonnel. The lines of demarcation are set at 3.5 percent or less (green), 3.5 percent to 7.5 percent (orange) and above 7.5 per- cent (red). When the team/population positivity rates creep into the orange/orange or or- ange/red categories, teams must alter their practice and meeting schedules and "consider the viability of continuing with scheduled competition" according to the Big Ten's press release. Teams in the red/red category must stop practice for at least a full week. "As always, the Big Ten has placed health and safety at the forefront," Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said. "The outlined return-to-competi- tion protocol places the priority on that principle, as well as establishing several research initiatives as we work together to address the health and societal impacts of COVID-19." Three days after announcing its plans for fall football, the league issued new schedules for each of its 14 teams – the third schedules those teams have been given this year. Penn State ended up For the latest news on Penn State's football sea- son, visit bwi.rivals.com. WHISTLE STOP Franklin said he is trying to stay "open- minded and cre- ative" as he works to prepare the Nittany Lions to play amid the unique circum- stances created by the pandemic. Photo by Steve Manuel