UK Unveils Plans and Protocols for Players' Safe Return to Campus

[caption id="attachment_266619" align="alignnone" width="1200"] UK Athletics[/caption] About an hour after Kentucky Sports Radio reported that members of the Kentucky football team would return to team activities with a Monday morning workout, the University of Kentucky unveiled its plan for bringing players back to campus. Beginning Monday, June 8 football players and essential staff will resume work on-campus. UK will limit who the players interact with to strength coaches, nutritionists and trainers, keeping coaches at home for the foreseeable future. Players will receive antibody testing before they are allowed to resume voluntary activities. It's one of the many protocols in place to protect the student-athletes.

• An initial screening process for each student-athlete prior to beginning voluntary activities that includes antibody testing
• Daily student-athlete and staff screening prior to entering a facility, including temperature checks and completion of a COVID-19 symptom questionnaire
• Acknowledgement of vulnerable populations for both student-athletes and staff and following recommended accommodations and restrictions
• Proactive education on COVID-19 best practices
• Establishment of single entry and exit procedures and securing other doors to minimize facility use
• Providing personal protective equipment for student-athletes and staff and setting rules for when masks must be worn

These protocols only apply to the football team as of now. Return to activity plans for other teams will be released as they are finalized. Players who remained in Lexington will begin workouts Monday. Returners who are coming back to Lexington from out of town will begin the screening process on June 8 with the goal of beginning voluntary workouts on June 15. Newcomers will begin the screening process on June 15 with the goal of beginning voluntary workouts on June 22. “We will not compromise the safety and well-being of our student-athletes in this process, taking all possible precautions,” athletics director Mitch Barnhart said. “Once we take this important step in returning to activity, we will shift our focus to preparing to return to play and bringing the entire UK family – student-athletes, coaches and fans alike – back together this fall in a responsible and safe way.”