ACC's medical adviser says football season can be conducted safely

The ACC is proceeding with the intent of starting the football season on time, and the conference’s top doctor said Tuesday it can be done safely.

Dr. Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist at Duke and chair of the ACC’s medical advisory team, told Sports Business Daily he recognizes the unpredictability of the coronavirus, but he said doctors have learned enough over the past six months to manage the risk.

“We believe we can mitigate it down to a level that makes everyone safe,” said Wolfe, an associate professor of medicine at Duke. “Can we safely have two teams meet on the field? I would say yes. Will it be tough? Yes. Will it be expensive and hard and lots of work? For sure.

“But I do believe you can sufficiently mitigate the risk of bringing covid onto the football field or into the training room at a level that’s no different than living as a student on campus.”

Partially because of Wolfe’s optimism, the ACC remains steadfast in its desire to play this season. The Big Ten and Pac-12 on Tuesday joined the Mountain West and Mid-American conferences in postponing the season.

The ACC plans to open its season Sept. 12, with an 11-game schedule for most teams. Pitt may play only 10 because it was scheduled to open against Miami (Ohio) of the MAC.

Wolfe has told top ACC officials that “the virus isn’t going away.”

“We have to co-exist with covid,” he said. “I like that saying because it summarizes a reality that this virus isn’t going anywhere. Whilst it ebbs and flows, we’re not going to see it ebb to zero anytime soon.”

Wolfe added that covid “is not Ebola.”

“It doesn’t have the lethality or the infectivity,” he said. “So, certain mitigation efforts can be incredibly helpful. We’ve seen that in other countries — sadly not in the United States — where good infection control and good regimented management have allowed groups to co-exist with this virus really well.”

Running counter to Wolfe’s optimism is the Pac-12’s medical advisory group, which advised its conference to stop contact and competitive activities immediately, said Dr. Dave Petron, a University of Utah doctor and a member of the group.