John Wildhack | Aug 25

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Wildhack: "We continue to be on a path to compete this fall, and that's a phrase I've used frequently." Syracuse administered 319 tests last week to individuals within athletics. No positives. In total, there have been 1,750 tests administered, 5 total positives, none in 6 wks.

Wildhack: "We all understand that if we're going to play this fall, there's going to be ebbs and flows. It's not just going to be smooth sailing." Identifying and containing outbreaks will be key. That's rooted in testing, quarantining and tracing protocols.

Wildhack asked about ACC testing mandates... He said "there's been really conversations" about increased testing frequency, but nothing official yet. 14-day quarantine is based on CDC guidelines.

Wildhack said he spoke with Dr. Cameron Wolfe on the phone for about half an hour last week. From a medical perspective, the ACC still feels good about moving forward with a fall season.

Wildhack circles back to testing frequency, implies there is progress toward ramping it up: "It looks like we're going to increase the testing frequency, which is good." ACC has done legwork to research myocarditis, including speaking with top cardiologists.

Wildhack said travel parties for fall sports will include essential people only and no one will be allowed to leave the team hotel until the party goes to the competition. Quips, "God forbid you go to a bar. If you do, you'll be walking home."

Wildhack looking ahead after getting contract extension: "We've worked really hard to invest in football and get football to an ACC level. Dino and I are aligned. We want to be consistently good, not occasionally great, to borrow his line."

Wildhack said the ACC hasn't looked at high-risk fall sports vs. low-risk. That's a discussion that's going on at the high school level in NYS.

Wildhack asked about weekly testing mandates as far as how close to competition tests can be administered. "I think that'll be decided at the conference level. ... We've made good progress there and I think we're in the late innings as far as getting that done."