Power 5 Commissioners Amplify the Importance of Vaccinations During Football Media Days
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Power Five Vaccine Requirements: Commissioners Amplify the Importance of Vaccinations During Football Media Days
Executive Summary
Power 5 commissioners emphasize during Football Media Days the importance of vaccines to maximize the chance for college football’s 2021 season to proceed with the least disruption
University vaccination policies come into focus as the fall semester draws near
A/V provides breakdown below of university vaccination policies by Power 5 conference
Some Power 5 institutions’ vaccination policies outline a broader number of valid reasons to be exempted from vaccination requirement
Vaccination policies generally fall into these categories: required for all students, faculty, and staff; required of students but encouraged for faculty and staff; encouraged for students, faculty and staff
61.5% (40) of Power 5 institutions are NOT requiring students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated
30.8% (20) of Power 5 institutions are requiring students, faculty, and/or staff to be vaccinated
7.7% (5) require some universities members (all faculty and staff or all students) to be vaccinated
The majority of Power 5 institutions that are NOT requiring the vaccinations are still “encouraging,” “strongly encouraging,” or “highly encouraging” individuals to get the vaccine
Positive COVID-19 outbreaks within football teams could result in forfeits
The rescheduling of games due to outbreak of COVID-19 is not guaranteed
Several Power 5 Institutions benchmarked 85% vaccination threshold
Editor’s Note: The Power 5 institutional vaccination policies referenced in this article were policies published on each university’s website as of August 2, 2021.
The recent football media days hosted by Power 5 conferences did not solely focus on the star football players and headlining conference showdowns on the gridiron. Media days give conference commissioners an opportunity to provide a state of union and points of emphasis for their conferences. One clear point of emphasis from multiple Power 5 commissioners was for campus stakeholders and others tied to college athletics to get the vaccine.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby did not mince words during the Big 12 media day press conference. “Frankly, anyone not getting vaccinated is taking unnecessary and unwarranted risks,” Bowlsby said. “It's shortsighted to not get vaccinated. If indeed the delta variant is as infectious as it is reported to be, not getting vaccinated is rolling the dice. As student-athletes, you're also rolling the dice on whether you're going to participate.”
On the first day of SEC Media Days, Commissioner Greg Sankey made it clear that teams need to get their players vaccinated. If they don't, it could cost them a win. Sankey announced that unlike last season, games will no longer be rescheduled in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak. Sankey didn't commit to any specifics, but this could mean a team with an outbreak may be forced to forfeit or the game will just be declared a no-contest.
Sankey’s comments came less than a week after Big 12 Media Days kicked off their availability with the message that vaccinations need to be increased.
As of the SEC’s media day, six of the 14 football teams in the SEC had reached the 80% vaccination threshold or better. Teams that are 85% vaccinated are not required to test regularly or wear masks inside school facilities.
"That number needs to grow and needs to grow rapidly," Sankey said. "They've [vaccines] proven to be highly effective and when people are fully vaccinated we all have the ability to...maximize our chances of returning to a normal college football experience, and a normal life."
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips called vaccinations "critical" for all athletes to avoid a positive test that would force them off the field but added that it will remain a personal choice or at the discretion of each university.
“I believe vaccines are critical...in eliminating the COVID-19 virus and its variants, but I also deeply respect that getting vaccinated is a personal choice," he said.
He added that a decision has yet to be made as to whether the conference will reschedule games disrupted by further coronavirus outbreaks.
Half of the ACC's football teams are at or above the 85% vaccination threshold, according to Phillips. Seven schools already require students to be vaccinated to be on campus, including Virginia, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Notre Dame. The Irish remain in the ACC with the exception of football and hockey.
Big 10 Commissioner Kevin Warren was more guarded in his remarks regarding the vaccine. “One of the things I did learn last year is to make sure that we are methodical and thoughtful -- that we bring people together,” Warren said. “And so we’re right where we want it to be.”
“As soon as we gather all the information from our schools in early August, we’ll finalize our policies to make sure that we pressure-tested as much as we possibly can, and then we’ll make sure we release it to everyone in the media and in the public.”
Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff recently told the media he was "leaning toward" taking the same approach as SEC with regard to forfeits and no contests with some announcement coming in the next two weeks
"We're leaning toward going back to the pre-COVID policy of forfeits if you can't field a team but we've not made that final decision yet," he said.
One reference point in some of the medical and resocialization policies and protocols is the NCAA’s “Resocialization of Collegiate Sport: 2021 Summer Activities” that was published on June 8, 2021. The NCAA guidance indicated that unvaccinated athletes and athletics personnel should consider wearing masks and/or remaining physically distant during all athletics activities unless the population has reached a critical threshold of 85% immunity and the community transmission is low.
Presently, immunity refers to population immunity from a combination of full vaccination at any point and COVID-19 infection within 90 days. The community is defined situationally and may differ, for example, between the athletic team and the dormitory. This means that the considerations of a sports team may differ from considerations in a dormitory, based on community immunity within those defined populations.
38% of Power 5 Institutions are requiring some or all of its campus community to be vaccinated this fall; approximately 62% of Power 5 Institutions are not mandating vaccinations.
Power 5 Vaccination Policies – Mandatory or Encouraged?
61.5% (40) of Power 5 Institutions are NOT requiring students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated with the vast majority expressly encouraging the vaccine.
30.8% (20) of Power 5 Institutions are requiring students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated.
7.7% (5) Power 5 Institutions only require some university constituents (students or faculty and staff) to be vaccinated.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Eight ACC member institutions are requiring the vaccine.
Seven ACC member institutions are NOT requiring the vaccine.
Of the four ACC member institutions in the state of North Carolina, Duke requires the vaccine, but North Carolina, North Carolina State and Wake Forest do not require the vaccine.
The Big 10 Conference
Six Big 10 member institutions are requiring the vaccine.
Eight Big 10 member institutions are NOT requiring the vaccine
Michigan’s policy only requires students living in on-campus residence halls to get the vaccine.
The Big 12 Conference
All ten Big 12 member institutions are NOT requiring the vaccine.
Oklahoma is not requiring the vaccine with the caveat that patient-facing staff members and individuals participating in study abroad programs must be vaccinated.
The Pac-12 Conference
Nine Pac-12 member institutions are requiring the vaccine.
Three Pac-12 member institutions are NOT requiring the vaccine.
Of those three Pac-12 universities not requiring the vaccine, two strongly encourage it and one “expects” students to be vaccinated even if not mandated.
Two of those Pac-12 universities not requiring the vaccine -- Arizona and Arizona State -- have their proverbial hands tied when it comes to mandating students, faculty, and staff be vaccinated or tested, as restrictions have been put in place pursuant to Arizona Governor Douglas Ducey’s Executive Order.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC)
Only one (Vanderbilt) of the 14 SEC member institutions currently requires vaccinations for students, faculty and staff
Texas A&M does not require the vaccine and its vaccination policy makes no reference to “encouraging” the vaccine -- its policy describes the vaccine as a “voluntary vaccine.”
Other Power 5 Vaccination Policy Trends & Fast Facts
Of the three Power 5 Institutions in the state of Indiana, Indiana and Notre Dame are requiring vaccines while Purdue is not.
Of the three Power 5 Institutions in the state of Florida, Miami is requiring the vaccine for faculty and staff and encouraging the vaccine for students while Florida State and Florida are not requiring the vaccine for any campus stakeholders
All four Power 5 institutions in the mid-Atlantic, New York and New England footprint (Boston College, Syracuse, Rutgers, Maryland) require the vaccination
Of the nine Power 5 private universities (Baylor, Boston College, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Stanford, TCU, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest), only two -- Baylor and TCU -- are NOT requiring the vaccine
Schools generally have identified medical and religious reasons as a basis for seeking a vaccination exemption. The University of Oregon’s policy might be more expansive than average in terms of reasons to be exempted. Oregon’s policy notes that students and employees may seek an exemption to the vaccination requirement based on “medical, religious, philosophical, or other non-medical reasons.”
Closing
The current proliferation of the delta variant across the country is prompting the CDC and state-level authorities to modify guidance when it comes to mitigating activities like mask-wearing indoors.
If the delta variant’s spread continues at a high rate, universities across the country, including Power 5 institutions that do not require vaccinations, may be compelled to revisit their policies.
Amending institutional vaccination policies in the coming weeks will be a particularly interesting quagmire as it relates to timing. With the start of fall semesters fast approaching, a change from optional to mandatory vaccination requirements could create logistical and optical tempests.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
