Fresno State starts preparation to return for fall football season
If the Mountain West Conference is able to start a fall football season Fresno State very likely will be on the field competing, which has been in doubt with the county in the state’s most restrictive tier of COVID-19 blueprint for a safer economy.
“Fresno State, with guidance from medical experts, has developed a bold and creative plan to begin returning student-athletes to campus so they can prepare for Mountain West competition, if health conditions allow,” university president Dr. Joseph I. Castro on Friday, in a statement to The Bee.
“Our goal is to secure approval of this plan by local public health officials and the California State University Chancellor’s Office by the end of September.”
The conference has been exploring a late October start for a fall football season, in line with efforts by the Big Ten and the Pac-12, which also postponed football and fall sports seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That date would be somewhat awkward for the Bulldogs – Fresno State had to cancel its first spring practices under new coach Kalen DeBoer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and university administrators did not clear student-athletes to return to campus for voluntary workouts in June, two sessions of mandatory workouts in July or for the start of fall camp in August due to state and county health and safety guidelines.
But with the number of coronavirus cases and the positivity rate in Fresno County improving it is now expected the Bulldogs will be able compete in a fall football season, if it can be put together. Fresno State has proceeded cautiously through the pandemic, following state and local health and safety guidelines.
Bulldogs’ to-do list: testing, quarantine
Fresno State likely would go through its planned coronavirus protocols when its football team returns to campus starting with a COVID-19 test and a period of quarantine. An Oct. 24 or Oct. 31 start date would give the Bulldogs roughly four to five weeks to prepare for an opening game, and sort through some pressing issues.
Fresno State in the spring was to have junior transfer Jake Haener and third-year sophomore Ben Wooldridge compete at quarterback, and also is installing a new 4-2-5 under new defensive coordinator William Inge.
The conference has yet to announce plans for a fall season, and procurement of rapid-result testing and approval from the board of directors remain hurdles.
“The real trigger on this is the rapid-result testing,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson told the Associated Press on Thursday night. “And that’s the key, if we can get that. We’re talking to a number of manufacturers and providers. That has to be done really before any decisions can concretely be made.”
The Mountain West had planned to play an eight-game schedule against conference opponents with a championship game, before its board decided in August to postpone football and all fall sports due to the coronavirus.
If implemented in the late fall, that schedule would put a lot of football into a small window with no room to reschedule games should a program be hit with a COVID-19 outbreak or have to quarantine players due to contact tracing.
Challenges in starting football season
The Big 12, ACC, SEC, American Athletic Conference, Sun Belt and Conference USA all went ahead with fall football seasons, but have had a number of games postponed with players unavailable either because of positive coronavirus tests or contract tracing.
Houston was scheduled to play at Memphis on Friday, but Memphis was unable to play due to an outbreak. Houston quickly scheduled a game at Baylor on Saturday, replacing its game at Memphis. But Baylor on Friday then had to postpone after failing to meet Big 12 COVID-19 game cancellation thresholds.
BYU had to postpone its game at Army on Saturday due to positive COVID-19 tests and Arkansas State — where Fresno State’s defensive star Justin Rice landed as a transfer — had to reschedule a game against Central Arkansas, citing insufficient numbers in a position group to play a game.
Charlotte also had to cancel a game at North Carolina on Saturday after contract tracing had depleted its offensive line to a point it could not play.
Men’s and women’s basketball also is a priority, with the NCAA on Wednesday approving a plan for teams to play up to 27 games and a minimum of 13 against Division I opponents to be eligible for the postseason.
Games can start on Nov. 25, with practices opening Oct. 14 and a period of strength and conditioning workouts, skill instruction and meetings for up to 12 hours per week that can start on Sept. 21 and run through Oct. 13.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 11:45 AM.