Pac-12 Announces Rapid Coronavirus Testing, Signals Sport Return

LOS ANGELES, CA — A game-changing access to coronavirus testing conferencewide could signal a return to play sooner than anticipated for the Pac-12, according to Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott.

Daily testing will take place starting at the end of September, thanks to the partnership the conference has formed with Quidel Corp.

The agreement with Quidel is a major step toward the safe return of sports competition in the Pac-12 through frequent coronavirus testing with rapid results, officials said. The ability to test and learn results quickly was a key concern in the prior decision by the Pac-12 to postpone sports competition until January.

A player arriving at practice will be first tested, and they then await results before being allowed on the field or court. If an infected player never makes it to practice with teammates, it drastically reduces the number of athletes who would need to be quarantined if they were positive for coronavirus, officials said.

"We can potentially keep anyone who is infectious out of practice," said Dr. Kimberly Harmon, section head of sports medicine for the University of Washington, during a meeting. "Our athletes will be no more at risk than the students. This is a safe way to get back to sport."

The testing by Quidel "significantly reduces the number of contact traces required and the breadth of contact tracing needed to relieve some of the burdens on local health authorities due to removing or significantly limiting infection spread through athletics activity," a Pac-12 spokesperson said.

But testing is only half of the battle when considering return to play amid a global pandemic. Any return to competition is subject to requisite approvals from public health officials. Testing is the first piece to a very large puzzle of restarting sport at colleges across the country.

Though no Pac-12 competition is on the books before January, that could change, as could the ability to play with teams in other conferences.

"We will constantly revisit and constantly track the data and the science," Scott said in a Zoom conference Thursday. "We're going to stay nimble and regularly convene with our chancellors and will hopefully give us the opportunity to start before Jan. 1."

Rapid testing enables the Pac-12 to level the playing field when it comes to identifying who has been exposed to coronavirus.

The testing machines and tests are to be delivered to each of the Pac-12's athletic departments by the end of September.

Over the coming weeks, the Pac-12 plans to review this latest testing advancement with its sport planning committees and evaluate the impact on return to competition.

"This is a major step toward the safe resumption of Pac-12 sport competitions," Scott said. "The availability of a reliable test that can be administered daily, with almost immediate results, addresses one of the key concerns that was expressed by our medical advisory committee, as well as by student-athletes, coaches, and others.

"At the same time, our partnership with Quidel, the industry leader in point-of-care antigen testing, will provide crucial research data that will benefit our members' communities as well as the entire country," Scott said.

According to Douglas Bryant, Quidel's president and CEO, the arrangement will help protect Pac-12 student-athletes return to play while contributing to further understanding of the COVID-19 virus that will benefit all of society.

"With its well-established medical research program, the Pac-12 is an ideal partner to help us develop and document the most effective coronavirus testing protocol to serve our families and communities," Bryant said.

At the time the Pac-12 CEO Group voted to postpone sport competitions, they cited the need for "more frequent testing, performed closer to game time, and with more rapid turnaround time," particularly in light of the uncertainties regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19. The access to daily testing addresses those concerns, Scott noted.

An independent research initiative will document and determine if a testing protocol that involves point-of-care rapid testing immediately before practice or competition can decrease or eliminate the risk of infection from sport interaction, as proposed by some experts.

"This is an opportunity to get our athletes back to activity in a careful and controlled manner while monitoring outcomes," Harmon said. "It is a win-win for athletics and to better our understanding of strategies to prevent spread during sports."

Dr. Doug Aukerman, Oregon State senior associate athletic director of sports medicine and chair of the Pac-12 SAHWBI Board, added: "This will allow us to learn even more about the behavior of the virus, especially in asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic individuals. The implication is that this can inform the broader medical community on asymptomatic cases as well as our care and treatment for student-athletes."

Testing daily should reduce infection in student-athletes, coaches and staff members, but it will also reduce the potential burden on local health authorities to carry out widespread contact tracing, a spokesperson said.

"Pac-12 universities and their medical research centers are performing significant and important research to better understand and combat COVID-19," Scott said. "The study to be conducted with Quidel fits into the broader educational and research missions of our universities, and will provide important new data and information that will be beneficial to society more broadly."