Photo by: Liz Parke
Bowlsby: Delta Variant Could Keep Some Competition Thresholds in Play
July 16, 2021 11:31 AM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Many of us may be done with the coronavirus, but the coronavirus is not quite done with us yet.
The Delta variant is the new cause of concern with pockets of the country where vaccination rates are low experiencing upticks in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
It did not take Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby long to bring up the subject during his opening remarks at Big 12 Media Day Wednesday morning at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
He discussed the challenging, prior season and how the league navigated the pandemic before he mentioned the re-introduction of competition thresholds. It's something the league will likely be dealing with again in some form this year.
"Recently, I re-introduced the topic that we needed to think about, whether we were going to have competition thresholds this year, what our testing protocols would look like for people that didn't have the vaccine, and I would have to say that among the athletic directors, I don't know that I've ever introduced a topic that was less warmly received than the revisitation of all the protocols and things that we have gone through in the last year," Bowlsby began.
"And yet," he continued, "with the Delta variant, there are good reasons that we need to continue to be vigilant, and we will be. There's still going to be a fair amount of testing. We had a lot of surprises and disappointments during the last year, but ultimately, I think self-discipline became the coin of the realm."
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell agrees.
"The greatest challenge that you dealt with was the challenge in your locker room and were you willing to commit to the standard, not just the three hours you were involved with football, but the other 21 hours you were away from the facility?" Campbell said.
"You have to have the ability to adapt and grow, but you still have to come back to who is leading the way?" Campbell added. "No matter who is coming our way with COVID or the next challenge, it's going to come down to our leadership and the leadership within our walls."
We saw earlier this summer the consequences of not having a team fully vaccinated when NC State lost its opportunity to play for a baseball national championship when a COVID outbreak within the team forced the cancellation of its game with Vanderbilt in the College World Series.
Vanderbilt was the team that advanced to the College World Series finals to face Mississippi State. West Virginia coach Neal Brown has discussed the NC State baseball situation with his football team.
"Yes, we talked about it," he said. "We're in the education business in this medical thing. I can share my personal decision I made and I can share why I made that decision, but for our players, it's their individual decision or with the assistance of their family. It's not something I can force on them and it's not something I think is my right to force on them. All we can do is provide the information."
Brown said he chose to get vaccinated, as did his wife, his 13-year-old daughter, his parents and his wife's parents.
"I shared my personal experience with my players, but as far as advice, that comes from our medical community," Brown said.
Bowlsby mentioned the self-disciplined teams were the ones that fared most successfully last year with virus protocols. That will be the case this year as well.
"The teams that followed the guidelines, that did the testing things that they needed to do, that did the necessary social distancing, adhered to protocols when they were traveling and on the road in the locker rooms and the like, they are the ones that were ultimately the most successful," he said.
Bowlsby indicated Wednesday that COVID protocols have yet to be established for the 2021-22 season.
"If we've learned anything, it's to be patient," he said. "Frankly, we're not excited to think about having to have protocols, but we're also not unprepared.
"No decisions have been made. Our athletic director subgroup has been sort of the ideation engine for these things when it comes to the full group of ADs, but I suspect that some of those protocol issues will be resolved in the next 30 days," he said.
Bowlsby noted the conference does not have the authority to mandate its athletic teams be vaccinated. He also doesn't expect to issue a mandate in the future because institutions are not mandating vaccinations for other students on campus.
However, he said the conference is going to do everything it can to encourage those student-athletes not vaccinated to get their shots before athletic competitions begin this fall.
"I think it's very short-sighted to not get vaccinations," Bowlsby said. "Even if the Delta variant weren't around, it makes sense to get vaccinated.
"I think it's early in the year and early in the process," he said. "We have always thought that viruses were more prevalent during late fall and through the winter. And so, you know, if indeed the Delta variant is as virulent and as infectious as it's been reported to be, not getting vaccinated, you're rolling the dice in terms of whether you'll contract the virus. And beyond that, for a student-athlete, you're also rolling the dice on whether or not you're going to be able to participate because you're going to be in a testing protocol if you're not vaccinated."
West Virginia University athletics conducted more than 35,000 COVID 19 tests last year. That number won't be nearly as high in 2021-22, but testing will continue to be done at WVU and at all other schools throughout the season.
"I can't quote chapter and verse for you on the 10 teams and how many of their football players are vaccinated or what percentage, but I know it's a priority for coaches and for athletics directors, and it's an appropriate priority for medical professionals as well. Anybody you ask suggests that you get vaccinated," Bowlsby concluded.
The importance of remaining vigilant became clear once again yesterday when the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox baseball game was postponed when three New York players tested positive for the virus. Three more cases are pending.
Indeed, the coronavirus is not done with us yet.
The Delta variant is the new cause of concern with pockets of the country where vaccination rates are low experiencing upticks in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
It did not take Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby long to bring up the subject during his opening remarks at Big 12 Media Day Wednesday morning at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
He discussed the challenging, prior season and how the league navigated the pandemic before he mentioned the re-introduction of competition thresholds. It's something the league will likely be dealing with again in some form this year.
"Recently, I re-introduced the topic that we needed to think about, whether we were going to have competition thresholds this year, what our testing protocols would look like for people that didn't have the vaccine, and I would have to say that among the athletic directors, I don't know that I've ever introduced a topic that was less warmly received than the revisitation of all the protocols and things that we have gone through in the last year," Bowlsby began.
"And yet," he continued, "with the Delta variant, there are good reasons that we need to continue to be vigilant, and we will be. There's still going to be a fair amount of testing. We had a lot of surprises and disappointments during the last year, but ultimately, I think self-discipline became the coin of the realm."
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell agrees.
"The greatest challenge that you dealt with was the challenge in your locker room and were you willing to commit to the standard, not just the three hours you were involved with football, but the other 21 hours you were away from the facility?" Campbell said.
"You have to have the ability to adapt and grow, but you still have to come back to who is leading the way?" Campbell added. "No matter who is coming our way with COVID or the next challenge, it's going to come down to our leadership and the leadership within our walls."
We saw earlier this summer the consequences of not having a team fully vaccinated when NC State lost its opportunity to play for a baseball national championship when a COVID outbreak within the team forced the cancellation of its game with Vanderbilt in the College World Series.
Vanderbilt was the team that advanced to the College World Series finals to face Mississippi State. West Virginia coach Neal Brown has discussed the NC State baseball situation with his football team."Yes, we talked about it," he said. "We're in the education business in this medical thing. I can share my personal decision I made and I can share why I made that decision, but for our players, it's their individual decision or with the assistance of their family. It's not something I can force on them and it's not something I think is my right to force on them. All we can do is provide the information."
Brown said he chose to get vaccinated, as did his wife, his 13-year-old daughter, his parents and his wife's parents.
"I shared my personal experience with my players, but as far as advice, that comes from our medical community," Brown said.
Bowlsby mentioned the self-disciplined teams were the ones that fared most successfully last year with virus protocols. That will be the case this year as well.
"The teams that followed the guidelines, that did the testing things that they needed to do, that did the necessary social distancing, adhered to protocols when they were traveling and on the road in the locker rooms and the like, they are the ones that were ultimately the most successful," he said.
Bowlsby indicated Wednesday that COVID protocols have yet to be established for the 2021-22 season.
"If we've learned anything, it's to be patient," he said. "Frankly, we're not excited to think about having to have protocols, but we're also not unprepared.
"No decisions have been made. Our athletic director subgroup has been sort of the ideation engine for these things when it comes to the full group of ADs, but I suspect that some of those protocol issues will be resolved in the next 30 days," he said.
Bowlsby noted the conference does not have the authority to mandate its athletic teams be vaccinated. He also doesn't expect to issue a mandate in the future because institutions are not mandating vaccinations for other students on campus.
However, he said the conference is going to do everything it can to encourage those student-athletes not vaccinated to get their shots before athletic competitions begin this fall.
"I think it's very short-sighted to not get vaccinations," Bowlsby said. "Even if the Delta variant weren't around, it makes sense to get vaccinated.
"I think it's early in the year and early in the process," he said. "We have always thought that viruses were more prevalent during late fall and through the winter. And so, you know, if indeed the Delta variant is as virulent and as infectious as it's been reported to be, not getting vaccinated, you're rolling the dice in terms of whether you'll contract the virus. And beyond that, for a student-athlete, you're also rolling the dice on whether or not you're going to be able to participate because you're going to be in a testing protocol if you're not vaccinated."
West Virginia University athletics conducted more than 35,000 COVID 19 tests last year. That number won't be nearly as high in 2021-22, but testing will continue to be done at WVU and at all other schools throughout the season.
"I can't quote chapter and verse for you on the 10 teams and how many of their football players are vaccinated or what percentage, but I know it's a priority for coaches and for athletics directors, and it's an appropriate priority for medical professionals as well. Anybody you ask suggests that you get vaccinated," Bowlsby concluded.
The importance of remaining vigilant became clear once again yesterday when the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox baseball game was postponed when three New York players tested positive for the virus. Three more cases are pending.
Indeed, the coronavirus is not done with us yet.
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