Why the SEC Is in No Rush to Postpone or Cancel LSU, College Football Season

Recent saliva based test gets approval from FDA, could provide a pathway towards a safe return to college sports

The college football world has gone completely topsy-turvy and a big part of the reason why are the differing opinions by the various medical tasks forces that exist within the FBS conferences. As of now, four conferences have pulled the plug on fall sports, including Power 5 conferences Big Ten and Pac-12. 

Those decisions were largely predicated on medical advice from the various task forces, which has sparked discussion as to why some conference task forces are allowing the football season to move forward and others aren't. Dr. Catherine O’Neal is an infectious disease physician in Baton Rouge and the leading voice on the SEC's medical panel. 

O'Neal told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger that if the SEC were to kickoff this week, she wouldn't advise to proceed with games. But that's the reason the SEC isn't expected to start its season until Sept. 26 in the first place. With over a month until the season officially starts, it gives the medical task force extra time to see how college campuses adjust once students are back on campus in full capacity.

“I can’t speak for the other medical task forces, but from our perspective, our questions have been very cautious about what is happening today and what’s happening the next couple of weeks,” O'Neal said.  “We haven’t dared to address what’s happening in a month or two months. We say that every time we meet: ‘Things are going to change so rapidly. Let’s proceed cautiously and re-evaluate.’

“I have to assume from media releases that the other conferences decided to have a more long-term perspective: ‘This doesn’t seem like we can do it. From our perspective, we haven’t addressed that long-term view as a medical task force.”

LSU doesn't start class until Aug. 24 but students are starting to move in this week. Oklahoma started moving its students in last week and after two weeks of zero positive tests on the football team, the university reported nine positive tests in the days since those students have moved in.

Full campuses - the next true test for the prospect of a college football season. https://t.co/Nf3tKcdu0y

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 15, 2020

However, O'Neal's point was hammered home with some good news that was reported over the weekend as well. On Saturday, the FDA approved a saliva-based COVID-19 test called SalivaDirect, a cheaper and faster test that will get results within hours of the test. According to ESPN, the cost per sample could be $4 but the actual cost for consumers will be about $15-20.

This is a significant development for a multitude of reasons. Testing ability is one of the main concerns among conferences and a quicker, cheaper test will allow the remaining six conferences to test athletes multiple times a week and get the results back within 24 hours. 

The current, most popular saliva test can cost consumers about $150 per test so the cheaper, faster option is a positive step in the right direction. The following Twitter thread details the importance of this new saliva-based test:

BREAKING: Great news.

SalivaDirect received approval this morning from the @US_FDA.

This could be one the first major game changers in fighting the pandemic. Rarely am I this enthusiastic. Here’s why.

Follow if interested.

— Andy Slavitt 🇺🇦 (@ASlavitt) August 15, 2020

Again, the opinions of medical professionals within the college football world are rife with difference. NCAA Chief Medical Officer Brian Hainline recently spoke with CNN about the possibility of college sports in the fall. 

"Right now, if testing in the US stays the way it is, there’s no way we can go forward with sports," Hainline said. "We’re not in a place today where we can safely play sports."

It's important to note that the NCAA can't control what the SEC, ACC and Big 12 ultimately do or don't decide in regards to a football season in 2020. The SEC will stay the course until the time that O'Neal and its medical task force say it's not safe to play the season out. 

That time may come or it may not. There are still plenty of hurdles to climb but the news out of the SEC remains unchanged 

“I feel like the Titanic. I feel like we have hit the iceberg, and we are making decisions about when we should have the band play,” Carlos Del Rio, a professor of gloabal health at Emory University told Dellenger.