From CDC's weekly letter today concerning the season:
Return to the 40 Update
On Monday, we were so happy to see about 70 upperclassmen Football players return to campus to begin the on-boarding process as they prepare for voluntary workouts that begin on June 15. I’ve said many times that I fully expect us to be playing football in front of our Longhorn faithful at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in the fall. We continue to plan for that, and as Governor Abbott increased the percentage of fans that can be in stadiums for sporting events from his original directive of 25 percent to 50 percent last week, our optimism continues to grow. That said, our Facilities & Gameday Logistics and Donor & Fan Experiences task forces are hard at work, and we are doing our due diligence with contingency plans for every possibility. It is a fluid situation, but rest assured, we will be prepared for whatever comes our way.
As for the first steps towards that with the return of Football student-athletes this week, the plan’s phased approach provides for best practices and keeps the safety of our student-athletes at the forefront. The on-going first phase on-boarding program consists of a robust screening process that includes COVID-19 testing, physicals and questionnaires. Mandatory physicals, daily screening and COVID-19 safety education/training conducted by Dr. James Bray and our Sports Medicine staff also must be completed before student-athletes may begin the second phase workout program.
The on-boarding will happen in two groups, beginning this week with the upperclassmen who live off-campus in order for them to start workouts on June 15. The second group will be the student-athletes who will be living on-campus. They will be on-boarded the week of June 15-19 and start workouts on June 22. The voluntary workouts will be conducted outside at the Frank Denius Practice Complex three days a week in small groups. No other athletics facilities will be used at this time. All activity will be closely monitored by the Sports Medicine and Strength & Conditioning staffs and follow a stringent set of health and safety guidelines. One of our top priorities during this stretch is training and preparing our student-athletes in successfully handling this process while creating healthy habits and COVID-19 management skills. That starts with our five pillars – hygiene, screening, social distancing, face coverings and culture! We must create a culture of diligence and responsibility with a mission of keeping others safe, along with ourselves. That was a major factor as we on-boarded staff a few weeks back and is a big emphasis now that we’re bringing back the student-athletes. Click HERE to view our COVID-19 procedures and updates.