Big 10 Votes To Cancel Fall Sports

[RichK]

At this point, large organizations like universities and large businesses (and small, smart countries) manage Covid via risk management -- they have an idea of how many cases trigger escalations, they test, track, trace, quarantine, repeat. My daughter just (virtually) graduated from U of I so she won't be there but they have a pretty interesting opening plan including spit tests twice a week, no-entry apps, etc, with a goal of keeping total case count to 500 for the semester:

UI scientists modeling COVID-19 say campus can safely reopen

With twice-a-week testing, most classes online, a mask requirement, contact tracing and an exposure notification app, University of Illinois researchers modeling the coronavirus believe that fewer than 500 people on

www.news-gazette.com

Right or wrong, workable or no, that's an actual PLAN. The problem with this country is pretending Covid doesn't exist/being too intellectually lazy to actually implement the hard work described above to legitimately control it so we get close, open, case spike, close, open, case spike, close and on and on. The worst possible approach with no end in sight.

College presidents are simply looking at large scale sports as too big of a risk right now for an institution that is also trying to get, you know, like, school off the ground this fall as well. It's part of their overall risk calculation, plain and simple.

Might it not work? Yep. If kids decide to do whatever they want universities will turn into mega-super-spreader hotspots, schools will shut down and they'll all be back at home living with their parents and maybe zoom-schooling. You know--actions have consequences. As with Covid so with the rest of their adult lives...A good lesson to learn. We'll see.

 

[whiporee]

There’s a way out of this. It’s pretty simple. Cheap crappy testing, done daily, administered at home. Results in 15 minutes.

These guys explain it much better than I can: https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/twiv-640/

The gist of it is we need to be focused not on who is infected, but who is infectious. We can do that with cheap tests — a buck a test — that can be done daily. 30 billion dollars gives every American a daily test for 90 days. You wake up, you spit on the paper, you wait 15 minutes. If you’re positive, you stay home. If negative you go on with your day and test again tomorrow.

The current testing requirements of the FDA demand that almost any trace of the virus in a system be detected. But transmitting COVID requires you have large amounts of the virus in your system, a few orders of magnitude higher than the current testing mandates require for approval. Cultivation tests show that the body usually only maintains that high level of virus for three to five days, not the 14 ones we’re insisting on for quarantine now.

It requires a paradigm shift for everyone, but if we could get even half the country to do it, we’d have this pretty much licked by Christmas. But to do so we need to get beyond the hypothetical and anecdotal aspects and onto the practical ways of preventing spread. Cheap fast crappy testing is the best way to do that.

and if you think I’m selling snake oil, listen to the podcast.The first 45 minutes or so is enough. These are people who have spent their lives studying viruses. I may not know what I’m talking about, but they sure do.

 

[eagle6]

If they're motivated entirely by greed, why not play sports? Isn't there money at stake there?

The athletes get the most attention from the media. There is money at stake and there are a lot of students on these campuses that don't care about football. A lot of donors don't care about football. If it is perceived that the playing of football caused an outbreak, these not athletic donors will not be happy. Also easier to keep government funding to the school if it is positioned that "we cancelled fall sports, doesn't that show you how much we care?" Easier to cover their butts this way than just address the fact that college kids do a lot of stupid things. I was one. It was a long time ago, but college age kids did, and still do, stupid things. They are going to gather and spread this way more than a football game without fans or attending class.

 

[Nimrod]

The athletes get the most attention from the media. There is money at stake and there are a lot of students on these campuses that don't care about football. A lot of donors don't care about football. If it is perceived that the playing of football caused an outbreak, these not athletic donors will not be happy. Also easier to keep government funding to the school if it is positioned that "we cancelled fall sports, doesn't that show you how much we care?" Easier to cover their butts this way than just address the fact that college kids do a lot of stupid things. I was one. It was a long time ago, but college age kids did, and still do, stupid things. They are going to gather and spread this way more than a football game without fans or attending class.

Good points. I don't think those outside forces mean the school is being greedy and not convinced that your last statement will come to pass. But you point out some things I hadn't thought much about.

 

[joe720]

They are going to gather and spread this way more than a football game without fans or attending class.

100% correct in everything you said. Difference is the goofy kids at the university won't be on prime time television. The imagery of having a prime time saturday night game cancel due to a sudden outbreak on a team would be a very bad visual.

Also other side of this is i think there is a greater fear of athletes claiming to be professional and paid if they are treated any differently than a normal college student (isolation, increased testing, ect.).

 

[_MIA_]

There will be outbreaks on every campus that has kids living in dorms, eating in dining halls, etc. Kids at that age feel like they are invincible..I used to go the university gym and I cannot tell you how many times I saw kids who looked like they were on their deathbed working out...

My classes are in person but I am only teaching graduate courses which means a) the classes are very small (<10) and the kids are typically a bit older (23+). Everybody has to wear a mask in class (including me) and we are supposed to make sure that they are "socially distanced". One thing I won't be able to do this year is throw markers at kids when they are asleep in class to wake them up since I would have touched the marker first...

 

[625ender]

One of the best parts of athletics is the seriousness of directives given to them by their coaches. Cutting out fall sports will in no way alter the corona infection rate it will just reduce the schools legal liability and attorneys fees

 

[schwabach]

At this point, large organizations like universities and large businesses (and small, smart countries) manage Covid via risk management -- they have an idea of how many cases trigger escalations, they test, track, trace, quarantine, repeat. My daughter just (virtually) graduated from U of I so she won't be there but they have a pretty interesting opening plan including spit tests twice a week, no-entry apps, etc, with a goal of keeping total case count to 500 for the semester:

Right or wrong, workable or no, that's an actual PLAN. The problem with this country is pretending Covid doesn't exist/being too intellectually lazy to actually implement the hard work described above to legitimately control it so we get close, open, case spike, close, open, case spike, close and on and on. The worst possible approach with no end in sight.

Yep. With proper leadership by the federal government, we would now be in a position of manage a difficult situation.

 

[eagle6]

Good points. I don't think those outside forces mean the school is being greedy and not convinced that your last statement will come to pass. But you point out some things I hadn't thought much about.

Sorry that I made it come across as the reasons are because of greed. These institutions are businesses that have to bring in enough money to survive. I wasn't really taking a shot at the decision makers for having money as factor in their decision. I use the money factor as the reason i get up and go to work every day. I just want them to be honest that it is a part of the decision and I'm ok with that.

 

[Nimrod]

Sorry that I made it come across as the reasons are because of greed. These institutions are businesses that have to bring in enough money to survive. I wasn't really taking a shot at the decision makers for having money as factor in their decision. I use the money factor as the reason i get up and go to work every day. I just want them to be honest that it is a part of the decision and I'm ok with that.

That wasn't about anything you said. I was speaking to the broader conversation that's going on.

Some are saying the B10 and P12 are greedy for not playing, and others are saying the SEC, ACC and B12 are greedy for still playing.