In recent weeks, the "if college football is played" discussion has rapidly transformed to a "when college football is played" discussion as schools announce plans to reopen campus in the fall and (on Wednesday) the NCAA approved voluntary on-campus athletic activities to resume by June 1.
The coronavirus won't vanish by June 1 or, barring a vaccine, anytime over the next seven months as teams prepare for and play the 2020 season, and it appears more conferences and schools are shifting attention to preventative, containment and treatment measures to be used upon resuming on-campus activities.
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"I think it's unrealistic to think that we won't have positive tests on campus and positive tests in locker rooms," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told ESPN. "Somebody somewhere is going to have that occur, and they'll have to deal with it."
The Big 12, nor has any other league (or school for that matter), announced specific plans to, as Bowlsby said, "deal with it," but conferences have been holding phone calls with medical experts in recent weeks.
The Big 12 is not among the four conferences opening the season in Week 0 on Saturday, Aug. 29. Their only game before Saturday, Sept. 5, is Oklahoma State's home game vs. Oregon State on Thursday, Sept. 3. Bowlsby previously said the conference needs to be "up and running" by mid-July for the season to start on time.
