When can Fresno State sports return? What school’s president says about Bulldogs’ future
There are 12 hours a week that are available to the Fresno State Bulldogs now that the NCAA has approved a scheduling model for the FBS football programs that have postponed seasons due to COVID-19.
It includes strength and conditioning workouts, meetings and some time on the football field, without contact.
But the question for a fifth time since March when Fresno State shuttered its spring practices due to the coronavirus pandemic: Will the university allow student-athletes to return to campus to participate in workouts with the safety protocols it has in place?
A small number of students and staff are back on campus for the fall semester, with health and safety protocols in place. The Department of Theatre and Dance has started rehearsal for a performance of “Darkside” while wearing masks and proper social distancing.
San Diego State, another Cal State institution in the Mountain West Conference, is expected to use the 12 hours allotted by the NCAA after a quarantine period with student-athletes returning to campus.
Two members of the Pac-12’s COVID-19 medical advisory board contacted by The Bee also said that strength and conditioning workouts could safely take place if following proper protocols.
But no sports? No football? No basketball?
No, and no return is in sight.
Fresno State’s response to athletics and COVID-19
“The safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and their families continues to be Fresno State’s highest priority,” university president Dr. Joseph Castro said. “The university is not currently able to announce when it will be safe for our student-athletes to return to campus for voluntary workouts because Fresno County continues to experience an increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, and our county is in the highest risk area of the state’s new color-coded system. As we have seen in California and across the nation, the risk of community spread increases significantly when groups of students are in close contact with each other (living and working out) on a daily basis.
“The proposed repopulation plan developed by our athletic department is in the process of being revised for final approval by the university, the California State University Chancellor’s Office and the Fresno County Department of Public Health, to ensure that it fully complies with recent State Public Health guidelines issued by the Governor’s Office for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) for Athletics, including COVID-19 testing protocols.”
Additionally, Castro said, it would not be appropriate to compare specialized in-person academic courses that were included in the university’s approved fall semester plan with voluntary athletic workouts.
That, however, hasn’t stopped some of the student-athletes from getting a little antsy.
Quarterback Jake Haener, who seldom posts on social media, tagged Castro in a tweet last week: “@JosephICastro got a bunch of dudes eager to get back to work. We got Championships to win. Any news on a report date?”
Former Bulldogs linebacker Justin Rice, the preseason defensive player of the year in the Mountain West, even transferred to Arkansas State to play this fall after the conference postponed fall sports to the spring at the earliest. Arkansas State is scheduled to play Saturday at Memphis.
Fresno State athletics has protocols in place for return
Fresno State had opportunities in June and July to bring its student-athletes back on campus for voluntary and then mandatory workout sessions in football as well as men’s and women’s basketball.
The athletics department has safety protocols in place for the return of student-athletes, which include daily health screenings before arriving on campus, a temperature check once arriving on campus and socially-distanced workouts on several of the athletic fields including Bulldog Stadium.
Student-athletes would work out in small groups, wearing marks and while exercising proper social distancing.
The strength and conditioning staff also erected an outdoor weight room behind the right field fence at Beiden Field to be used in conjunction with the weight room inside the Ricchiuti Academic Strength & Conditioning Center and create more room for student-athletes in lifting sessions.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.