SEC clears way for athletes to return to campus. Here’s what it means for Gamecocks
Will Muschamp has been getting ready, and now it’s official: His South Carolina players are allowed to make their return to campus.
The SEC announced Friday it will allow “voluntary in-person athletics activities” to resume starting June 8. It comes days after the NCAA voted to allow football and men’s and women’s basketball players to return to voluntary team activities starting June 1.
In a statement, Gamecocks athletics director Ray Tanner said student-athletes will be brought to campus a few days before June 8 for COVID testing.
That means the end to the 2 1/2-month interruption to the team’s offseason caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which canceled both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments and created a range of questions about the status of the college football season.
“Based on the decision today by the Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, the University of South Carolina will be ready to host football student-athletes on campus for voluntary workouts on June 8,” Tanner said in a statement. “They will be on campus several days before to get tested for the COVID-19 virus. We are excited to have our student-athletes back on campus. Their health, safety and well-being are our number one priority. Our staff and medical team have developed a thorough set of protocols that exceed CDC guidelines and will help our student-athletes through the transition back to campus.”
That work is still under the “voluntary” category, meaning it can be done under the supervision of strength coaches. No required work or organized activities can happen in June.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement: “Thanks to the blueprint established by our Task Force and the dedicated efforts of our universities and their athletics programs, we will be able to provide our student-athletes with far better health and wellness education, medical and psychological care and supervision than they would otherwise receive on their own while off campus or training at public facilities as states continue to reopen.”
After the SEC’s announcement, South Carolina released some of its own plans for bringing student-athletes on campus, which includes starting on June 1 to get players tested and transitioned back to campus.
Players will be tested upon their return to campus and get “daily symptoms and temperature check(s).” They will also be kept in small clusters (Muschamp suggested 10-12 in recent interviews), to prevent spread if someone contracts the disease.
The school also said facilities “have undergone a strict cleaning process to ensure they have been fully disinfected and will include additional hand sanitizing stations.” Masks and hand-washing are also being required.
Muschamp’s Gamecocks were a third of the way through spring football when the campus was shut down. They traditionally practice up until just before finals (the end of April) and break for May, though players often remain on campus to continue working out. The players usually return at the start of June to begin summer conditioning.
The men’s and women’s basketball teams also do offseason work through parts of the summer as well. Both teams were in line for trips to the postseason, with Dawn Staley’s team ranked No. 1 set to contend for a national title.
South Carolina’s football coaches have returned to the office, but they’re doing it carefully. Muschamp, in a radio interview with ESPN radio in Charleston, said his staff members are back in the building in shifts.
“We started back in the office,” Muschamp said. “Our offensive staff comes in from eight to 12. We social distance. We wear masks. We do all the protocol that they’re asking us to do. Our defensive staff work from 1-5.”
When the campus first shut down, it meant the staff had to work from home, utilizing Zoom videoconferencing for a range of staff meetings. And now that they’re back in the building, they’re taking a range of precautions, with only a few staffers beyond the core coaches coming in.
Muschamp also said he expects the season to kick off on the scheduled day — Sept. 5 against Coastal Carolina.
This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 1:05 PM.
