College football players test positive for coronavirus after returning to campus

College football players and other student athletes in Kansas, Texas and other parts of the country have tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to campuses.

Athletics officials at Kansas State University confirmed that eight student athletes tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday and are currently in quarantine. Although the school did not specifically name which student athletes tested positive, Kansas outlet KMBC News confirmed that football players are the only athletes currently permitted to be in the area.

The University of Texas in Austin confirmed this week that 13 football players have tested positive or are presumed positive for COVID-19. Contact tracing has also begun for 10 other players who were back on campus to begin workouts earlier this month, the school confirmed in a statement to The Hill. 

Four players at the school have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.

Kansas State University and the University of Texas are not alone in confirming that players have contracted the coronavirus as athletes return to campus to begin workouts and practices for the fall season.

“[Team doctor Michael] Goodlett has done a super job of making sure that if someone tests positive, we will have a record of who’s been around, who’s in contact, and obviously they’ll be tested at the same time,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said earlier this week, according to the outlet. “That should help. I think the challenge will be, as we move forward and trying to get back to some kind of normal, you know, everything that goes with that. But we feel very good about our plan, especially the first seven days.”

Clemson University in South Carolina confirmed last week that two football players and one men’s basketball player tested positive for COVID-19. Players were on campus for voluntary in-person workouts, and those who tested positive along with their contacts will be isolated.

Other student athletes in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama have all tested positive for the virus, CNN reported.

Colleges and universities across the country have introduced a slew of plans for students for the upcoming fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic. While some schools have announced that they will remain online for the semester in an effort to protect students and staff, other schools are returning fully in person or partially online at the end of the summer.

Updated 7:51 p.m.