COVID shuts down OU athletics; Stoops returns

Image
  • COVID shuts down OU athletics; Stoops returns
Body

After skating through the first couple of months of the semester without having any major COVID-19 outbreaks, the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department got hit hard last week. The athletic department felt the need to postpone one football game and cancel three men’s and women’s basketball games all due to COVID-19.

It wasn’t until Monday evening that the public began to get a better understanding of exactly why when the university’s athletic department released its weekly COVID-19 test numbers. Out of 250 student-athletes and 201 athletic staff members, 35 individuals across all sports tested positive for COVID-19 between Nov. 22-28. That’s 27 more than the prior week.

“I would say it’s affected all parts of our program,” OU football coach Lincoln Riley said Tuesday. “Staff, support staff — we have one branch of our support staff that’s pretty much been wiped out. We had to bring in some outside help. The players, obviously. It’s hit us all a little bit. Whether it’s an equipment manager, a trainer, a coach, you have to have plans, you have to have backup plans in case those things happen. We’ve had those.”

That backup plan for the Riley included enlisting the help of former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. He has stepped in to assist his protégé this week.

The cancellations started Nov. 25. The OU women were in the middle of their season opener against Houston when the university sent out a statement announcing the cancelation of the men’s season opener, which was scheduled for that night, due to positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing.

Later that same day, university officials informed the public that the Sooners football game scheduled Nov. 28 at West Virginia was also being postponed due to COVID-19 test and contact tracing as well.

One day after losing to Houston, the OU women announced their trip to South Dakota for the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic was canceled. The Sooners were scheduled to face Gonzaga, South Carolina and South Dakota over the three-day event.

It wasn’t until Tuesday afternoon when Riley spoke after practice that a coach or official from OU spoke to the media.

Of the 35 positive tests, there is no way to know for sure which ones are athletes or even which team they are on. The university made the decision when the semester started to keep those breakdowns in-house.

However, according to OU, the positivity rate for student-athletes in the latest tests hit 9 percent. That ties the mark the athletic department set in the first week of testing three months ago. After the second week, it had never been higher than 2 percent until now.

Riley said he was not one of the staff members who tested positive. But even as diligent as he is in wearing his masks, he still has apprehension when taking his daily swab test for COVID-19.

After pausing activities for a few days, the entire athletic program is looking to get back into their schedule of games. As of Dec. 1, the Oklahoma men’s basketball team will finally start its season Thursday with a rescheduled matchup with UTSA. Saturday the women’s basketball team will be in Athens, Ga. for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

But all of those games are dependent on whether there is another outbreak among the Sooners or their opponents this week.

While all of this was going on at OU, Mayor Breea Clark and the Norman City Council announced it was putting in new COVID-19 restrictions that could affect the Sooners going forward. Clark enacted a proclamation Monday that will severely limit the number of fans at indoor sporting events. Until further notice, no more than one spectator per athlete is allowed in gyms or arenas for games.

Also, temperature checks are now required and all coaches, game officials, staff, and spectators must wear a mask at all times.

However, according to OU, it will continue to follow its own attendance policy. It currently calls for 25 percent maximum capacity at indoor games.