The NCAA top doctor says more tests are needed than ‘there is no way we can move forward with sports’

The NCAA’s chief medical officer painted a bleak picture on the outlook of playing college football during the coronavirus pandemic. Without more rigorous testing, he believes, college sports are likely to be canceled altogether. 

In an appearance on CNN, Dr. Brian Hainline said that without an improvement in nationwide testing, “there’s no way we can go forward with sports.” 

Hainline added that “everything would have to line up perfectly” for fall sports, including football to be played. 

As it is, few conferences are moving forward with fall athletics. The NCAA has canceled all fall championships for Division I, Division II and Division III. However, the FBS is not part of the NCAA’s postseason, meaning its decisions do not directly affected by its governing body. Six FBS conferences — the AAC, ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, SEC and Sun Belt — are moving forward with their own plans for football. The two biggest conferences eschewing a 2020 football season for the spring are the Big Ten and Pac-12. However, the Big Ten has come under intense scrutiny for its decision to postpone football with many critics citing a lack of transparency and consistent messaging. A petition, led by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, is the latest push to get the Big Ten to reverse its decision and reinstate a fall season. 

Those conferences moving forward with football have also announced stricter guidelines for testing athletes. The SEC, for example, will test players at least twice a week while exploring the option of a third test. 

The biggest potential development came when the Food and Drug Administration approved a saliva testing method from Yale that could provide faster and more accurate results, a step that many conference presidents, chancellors and commissioners had hoped for over the summer. However, only that method has been approved. 

College football is scheduled to kick off at various points in September, with the ACC beginning on Sept. 7 while the Big 12 and SEC are starting their seasons on Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, respectively.