Pac-12 unveils new COVID-19 testing partnership to enhance safety
As part of the agreement, Fulgent will provide reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing — widely considered the gold standard in testing for COVID-19 — to every athletic department within the conference. The Pac-12 previously had announced a partnership with Quidel Corp. to acquire rapid testing for each of its athletic departments, prompting conference officials to reboot a fall sports season that had been put on hold.
“We are excited to be partnering with a leading testing company in Fulgent to provide our athletic departments with the very best capabilities to protect the health and well-being of our student-athletes,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. “On the heels of our agreement with Quidel to provide rapid-results testing, today’s announcement represents another important step in providing a safe and healthy environment for a return to competition for our student-athletes.”
The tests provided by Fulgent provide a higher level of sensitivity and specificity than the rapid tests, giving more reliable results within 24 hours of receipt of the testing sample. The new tests will add another layer of security to ensure that athletes who take the practice field and compete in games do not have COVID-19.
“Routine, rapid testing is playing a key role in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and is helping to keep players, coaches and staff safe as they look to return to competition,” Brandon Perthuis, chief commercial officer of Fulgent, said in a statement. “The Pac-12 has implemented several protocols in this area, and the RT-PCR testing provided by Fulgent Genetics is an important part of this process.”
Pac-12 football teams are slated to start the season the weekend of Nov. 6, with the full schedule expected to be released later this week.
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I keep checking for the schedule that is supposed to have been set up this week. I wonder if they lost the cup of bones they shake to cast out the schedule. Anyway you look at it the PAC 12 looks about as organized as a mad woman’s purse.
USC OL News Word is that USC is expected to land another three-star OL for the class of 2021: Ty Buchanon (6-5, 280) from Corpus Christi Calallen (TX). All of the recruiting experts tab USC as the winner here. Buchanon also has offers from schools like CU, SDS, OKS, PUR, TT and VANDY, among many others. His commitment could come later today, giving the Trojans four 2021 OL commits, the others being four-star Mason Murphy (San Juan Capistrano Serra (CA), and three-stars Maximus Gibbs (Bellflower St. John Bosco (CA) and Saia Mapakaitolo (Mesa Red Mountain (AZ). Also, it’s looking positive for highly-valued OL Alijah Vera-Tucker to return to… Read more »
Just read that CA has just revised its Covid standards to allow for football practice. I find it amazing that the only reason these standards were changed was political pressure from the USC football team (and ONLY the kids could have asserted this level of pressure) and the Big 10’s return.
Maybe the conference should have come to the aid of USC in their hour of need instead of standing on the sideline and being the NCAA’ cheerleading squad. If they had maybe the whole conference would be stronger today.
At the same time I see this a little bit as the rest of the power 5 saying they are fine with the PAC not being involved with the playoff structure.
My feeling is even if USC or Oregon go in defeating they will still not be part of a playoff.
Unfortunately, the Pac-12’s mini-season doesn’t really warrant a Pac-12 team getting in, unless ORE or USC win each game by 25 pts and don’t play each other until the conference championship, at which time one slaughters the other. Maybe then, one gets the #4 spot.
But there’s still lots of interesting, big-time bowl matchups that are real possibilities, and PLENTY to play for!
If USC goes undefeated, beats an undeafeated Oregon in the Pac-12 title game and then plays decently against a tough opponent in a bowl game, I will be happy with that. It would be a step in the right direction. My guess is that it would also fortify our recruiting push for both 2021 and 2022.
Utah, The Pac has been so poorly lead over the last decade (and SC is part of the reason for that incompetent leadership) that it is barely holding onto to its status as a Power 5 Conference. But, that is both in the past and simply reality. As with both Allen and gametv, I would be thrilled if SC wins the Pac and then plays a big bowl opposite ND. Odd way to get our ND game back, but it appears to be the only way in the present environment.
FWIW, all signs point to USC not playing ORE during the reg season. Good!
So it appears someone is actually paying attention to not having that harmful Pac-12 conference game, as it would give an automatic loss to one of the conference’s two best teams, at least as perceived by the nation.
I definitely think USC will get to the Pac-12 conference championship game with the current talent and terrific new defensive coaches (IMO)..
If true, it appears Merton Hanks actually is competent at his job. My guess is Hanks is the first competent football manager of the Scott era. As to wining the South, my money is on Utah as SC will play Utah in SLC Most likely in the snow.
UTAH seems to choke a lot and they aren’t that good this year, ranked by everyone below both USC and ASU in the South.
The Utes also got creamed by TEXAS in the Valero Alamo Bowl last year, 38-10, which was coached by Todd Orlando on D, as well as new USC safety coach Craig Naivar.
I expect Utah to have a tough D as usual, but not to beat SC.
USC HAS to win the Utes game. Total requirement.
The schedules should be out before long. I’ve never looked forward to this part of Trojan football as much as now. I’m still hoping USC gets UCLA right off the bat at the Rose Bowl because I want to see Choc Chip Kelly and his little gutties begin on a massive downer that they can’t recover from. I sincerely doubt my scheduling wish will be granted, however.
Speaking of Utah, the winner of the annual Utah Grower’s Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off, weighed 1,825 pounds, the second largest pumpkin ever grown in the state and the largest pumpkin ever grown outside of a greenhouse. It took six months for the pumpkin to get this big. ✌
I didn’t even know that and I live here.
Bleacher Report — Pac-12’s Larry Scott’s Expanded 8-Team CFP Proposal Rejected by Commissioners Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott’s proposal to expand the College Football Playoff to eight teams for this season was rejected by the CFP management committee, according to Heather Dinich of ESPN. Scott would have needed the approval of Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick and 10 FBS commissioners to have the measure passed. CFP executive director Bill Hancock told Dinich: “They decided that doing that now would be such a significant change, and come with so many challenges, especially given the timing with the season already underway, that they concluded that the best outcome would… Read more »
Larry Scott is trying to open the doors for his conference to get a free pass into the playoffs. He doesn’t have the moxie and won’t until PAC-12 football starts showing it can compete with the big boys. Sorry Larry, you get turned away again…..