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In an interview with CNN, Emmert said, "We have
literally a half-million student athletes. We've got 1,100
different schools that participate in NCAA sports -- 19,000
teams, not 32 (teams like the NFL). So, to me, it's not if a
student comes down with the virus, it's when. I think it's
almost inevitable with those kinds of numbers.
"And so you have to have in place the protocols for testing, for
tracking symptoms, for tracking contact and the ability to
quarantine individuals and those they've come in contact with
when this occurs.
"Same thing with regular students. It's impossible to believe
that you can bring 40,000 students back to campus and all the
faculty and staff and not have somebody sooner or later contract
the virus. So it's how you react to it that's going to be
critical."
The NCAA's request to conduct large-scale COVID-19 testing has
been passed along to "everyone from President Trump on down,"
according to Emmert. He added that he is optimistic such testing
will occur.
Emmert said the NCAA would not dictate when schools might resume
sports, leaving those decisions to be made locally. The fact
that the restart date could vary among states and regions leaves
college sports with a "juggling act," he said.
"I'm not the ultimate arbiter to this," Emmert said. "It's going
to be a decision that each of the campuses is going to have to
make on their own."
Emmert reiterated his previously stated belief that sports
shouldn't occur unless the general student body returned to
campus.
"If we can get colleges open and operating, we hope we can get
sports operating as well," he said. "These are college students
playing the sports. One thing we've been saying loud and clear
is you can't put college athletes at any more risk than college
students."
--Field Level Media
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