Pac-12 To Allow Voluntary In-Person Athletic Workouts Beginning June 15

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Pac-12 announced on Tuesday that it will allow for voluntary in-person athletic workouts for all sports beginning June 15.

The conference made the decision and updated their pandemic policy at a meeting of the Pac-12 CEO Group earlier today which follows the decision last week by the NCAA to permit conferences and schools to reopen for on-campus voluntary athletically related activities in all sports from June 1.

“As educational institutions, our highest obligation is to the health and welfare of our students, faculty, and staff,” said Pac-12 CEO Group Chair and University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano. “As we considered the pros and cons of taking steps that can pave a path to returning to play, those considerations were foremost, guided by the advice of our own medical experts along with public health officials.”

Here is a summary of the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee’s detailed recommended protocols that have been shared with Pac-12 universities: pic.twitter.com/OkV9cyywPH

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) May 26, 2020

Conference Commissioner Larry Scott released the following statement.

“The Pac-12 is committed to the well-being of our student-athletes, and the decision to allow for voluntary workouts, subject to a determination by each school, is guided by the advice of our medical experts and will be supported by the detailed protocols established by our medical advisory committee in concert with our campus’ own safety guidelines,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.  “As states have either already opened or begin to open up access to parks, gyms and other training facilities, student-athletes should have the option at this time to be in, what for many, will be a much safer environment on campus, where they can have access to the best available health, well-being and training support.”

After the news from the Pac-12, University of Utah athletics released the following statement.

“University of Utah Athletics is in support of today’s decision by the Pac-12 Conference to allow for voluntary in-person workouts to resume in all sports beginning June 15. We look forward to reopening our athletics facilities in accordance with the highest standards for health and safety advised by medical experts and in adherence with all state, local and campus guidelines. A dedicated working group has been working closely with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee to finalize a comprehensive plan for how we will manage the return of student-athletes into our facilities and ensure the safest possible experience for them. Details of the plan, and a specific timeline, will be announced later this week.”

.@utahathletics has released a statement following the Pac-12 news which allows voluntary workouts beginning June 15. #GoUtes @kslsports pic.twitter.com/XyHpCjFdfd

— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) May 27, 2020

Student-athletes must be symptom free, limit contacts (keep a list), and have no known COVID-19 contact for 14 days prior to returning to campus.

Athletes who are flying back to campus should consider isolation for 7 days prior to return to athletic facility.

The second phase for student-athletes to follow when they return to the athletic facility is to be fever and symptom free, will need pre-participation evaluation, laboratory testing among other guidelines.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.