KU Athletics will test all athletes for COVID-19 on return to campus, AD says
Kansas will be testing all athletes for the COVID-19 coronavirus when they return to campus over the next few months, athletic director Jeff Long announced during a KU board of directors meeting Wednesday.
The testing would be part of a several-day process that will be used to medically check athletes once they arrive in Lawrence.
Long noted that not all schools had committed to the same level of COVID-19 testing that KU will be doing, but the department’s relationship with Kansas Team Health, University of Kansas Health System and Lawrence Memorial Hospital led to the decision.
“Their guidance has been to test everybody,” Long said, “and that’s what we’re going to do.”
In addition, Long said KU will be moving forward with COVID-19 antibody tests for athletes as well. He said that also was a recommendation of Kansas Team Health.
KU plans to follow the Big 12’s outlined scheduled as it relates to the return of specific teams. Football players can begin voluntary workouts on June 15, with Long saying some athletes would be reporting to campus as soon as next week.
Volleyball, soccer and cross country (July 1), basketball (July 6) and all other sports (July 15) have later return dates as part of the Big 12’s phased approach.
Long also discussed other matters Wednesday, including an update on the potential of bringing back fans to stadiums in the fall. KU is looking at multiple options there, with Long saying medical advice would guide any final decisions.
KU, at this point, has modeled for many scenarios, including 100% capacity at Booth Memorial Stadium and Allen Fieldhouse. Long, however, said KU was still planning for other outcomes that could call for fewer fans than that.
“It’s not a time to panic,” Long said. “We will continue to communicate with our stakeholders, our season-ticket-holders, our fanbase, and I think we’ve been doing a good job of that communication, although it’s challenging in this time. But we will be well-prepared. Our team will be prepared. We’ll be able to provide a safe environment, whatever that is determined to be.”
Long also spoke about concerns about the upcoming 2021 fiscal year. He said it would be irresponsible if KU Athletics didn’t prepare for potential losses, saying the department has some idea it’s going to have between a 10-20% shortfall in revenue next year because of COVID-19’s impact.
Despite the pandemic’s effects, KU Athletics announced a projected $775,000 surplus on its $106 million budget to close out the 2020 fiscal year. Though KU is projecting to lose $1.4 million in revenue because of canceled events, it also expected to see $2.2 million in savings thanks to spring sports travel refunds.
KU Athletics chief financial officer Pat Kaufman also noted that it helped for fiscal year 2020 that both football and men’s basketball had completed their home games before the pandemic suspended events, meaning KU was able to bring in needed ticket revenue there.
The board of directors approved a new KU Athletics budget for the 2021 fiscal year of $100.9 million. That was originally slated to be $108.6 million but was reduced, in part, thanks to department and travel reductions and also KU rolling over its projected $775,000 surplus from 2020.
KU chancellor Douglas Girod made it a point to compliment Long and KU Athletics’ work on the new budget, saying KU “was not going to be in a position to bail out athletics.” Girod and Long’s estimates were that only 20-30 athletic departments essentially fully fund themselves like KU Athletics does without help from their university.
Long also lauded KU’s athletes for their academics. The department set a new record with a 3.43 cumulative grade-point average in the spring semester, while each individual sport also achieved at least a 3.0 — the first time that’s happened since at least 1986.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 7:01 PM with the headline "KU Athletics will test all athletes for COVID-19 on return to campus, AD says."
