Can Pac-12 Football Defeat Coronavirus This Season?

By the end of September, thousands of rapid-response antigen tests produced by Quidel's innovative system will be delivered to Pac-12 athletic departments as proof football games can return for the Fall 2020 season, reported the Mercury News on September 15, 2020. During early August, the Pac-12 Conference leaders postponed the season in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on the USA's west coast.

However, one Pac-12 school began using Quidel's tests last spring, and the results may score a victory for college football.

Arizona has already conducted about 25,000 Quidel Sofia SARS tests on students, athletes, staff members, and patients. David Harris, who oversees the testing program, told the Hotline the results have been impressive. The coronavirus tests were up to 98% accurate in sensitivity (finding the antigens) and 100% accurate in specificity (finding the right antigens).

But the importance of the Quidel antigen test for public health, he explained, is obvious: “It provides feedback on a large group of people rapidly.... in just 15 minutes."

The next 'play' for the Pac-12 is to convince health officials in Oregon and California to lift their restrictions. At that point, the Pac-12 university presidents could vote on letting the 'teams take the field.'