‘Optimism grows each month’: Mizzou’s Jim Sterk sees path to on-time football season
As the calendar creeps toward a Sept. 5 kickoff for the Missouri Tigers, MU athletic director Jim Sterk is growing more confident.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down virtually all sports in mid-March, questions of when, or even if, a college football season would take place ran rampant. Now, about three months away from the first scheduled game of the 2020 season, things are looking more clear.
“My optimism grows each month we get closer,” Sterk said on a Thursday video call. “I’m not different from most people: I’m hoping by September it’s really an exciting moment and I think everyone can celebrate. I think it’ll be really, really entertaining because you have no idea what’s going to happen. That’s the fun part of sports.”
The first — and arguably most important — step was getting MU’s student-athletes back on campus. That hurdle was cleared Monday, when the SEC allowed football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball players to return for voluntary workouts.
Precautions are being taken, Mizzou strength and conditioning coach Zac Woodfin said, as the workouts begin. Sterk said he has watched some of their sessions and is pleased to see some normalcy returning.
“It was a big week to be able to start to have our facilities start to open up for our student-athletes to utilize again,” Sterk said. “I went over and watched football as they were working in their six different groups.”
The next phase toward a football season involves the coaches working directly with their players. Currently, workouts are only supervised by strength and conditioning personnel. Football coaches are limited for now to eight hours per week of remote virtual training.
The NCAA will vote June 17 on a six-week practice plan as proposed by the Division I Football Oversight Committee. If the plan is approved, coaches could be interacting with players as soon as July 6.
Required meetings and two weeks of walk-throughs could then start in mid-July. Those sessions would precede an early-August training camp and serve as a make-up for time missed due to canceled spring practices.
That would be beneficial for first-year MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz. His team was allowed to conduct only three spring practices before the SEC ordered everyone to shut down.
In short, there’s an increasing sense that the 2020 football season could start on time.
“We’re anticipating and we’re working toward the starting of Sept. 5,” Sterk said. “We’re just planning for the sport of football to start. That’s the big question everyone asks. … Given the realities of the situation at the time, we may have to pivot and change. I just ask our fans and supporters give us a little leeway this year. It’s going to be an unusual year.”
Testing change
Originally, Mizzou was planning to administer COVID-19 tests only to student-athletes who were showing symptoms or had traveled to Columbia from hot-spot areas. But that course changed last week when MU officials decided to test everyone upon arrival.
MU will not report any positive cases publicly, though it will report cases to Boone County. Sterk said the athletic department is receiving tests from MU Health at a cost of about $150 apiece. He said that cost should drop significantly as MU Health streamlines its operations in coming weeks.
Sterk said the decision to reverse course and test all Mizzou athletes was made following discussions with health experts, UM system president Mun Choi and other officials. The fact that other schools have been reporting positive COVID-19 test results also played a factor, he said.
Sterk said MU’s football coaches are telling their players to be safe while going about their daily lives.
“(The coaches) are telling them they’re a part of a team bigger than themselves,” Sterk said. “They need to take responsibility, as well. Will people break from that? Yeah. But I think they’re really focused on being better, from what I saw earlier.”
Peaceful march
Sterk took part in the Mizzou football team’s peaceful protest march last week, and he said he hopes to continue having discussions about racism in America.
With national dialogue focused on racial inequality and police brutality, Sterk said he’s been talking with people of color in his department. He stressed that he “hasn’t walked in their shoes,” but he noted that diversity and inclusion are critical for everyone right now.
“That’s what we’re about,” he said. “Our core values in athletes are about respect and integrity, gratitude and humility put together. That’s what we’re here for. A lot of learning going on.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 5:32 PM.