UPDATE: 10 a.m. Oct. 26, 2020
UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque confirmed 24 positive cases of COVID-19 within the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics to The Rider newspaper last Friday.
According to The Rider, Conque confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among the UTRGV men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, golf, soccer, cross country and track and field programs.
ORIGINAL: 1 p.m. Oct. 21, 2020
UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque confirmed 12 positive cases of COVID-19 within the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in an exclusive interview with Vaquero Radio last Friday.
Conque confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among the UTRGV men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, golf and soccer programs. No coaches or athletic staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
Conque explains the rapid mobilization of the department when it is informed of a positive COVID-19 case.
“I can’t emphasize enough, we move immediately, within minutes, literally within minutes,” said Conque. “We’ve got a COVID response team within our athletics department that dovetails and works in tandem, and takes guidance, from our COVID task force on campus.”
According to Conque, student-athletes that test positive are immediately isolated.
Conque said there are four different options for student-athletes on where they can isolate, dependent on their housing situation:
–Student-athletes that live on campus must isolate at Troxel Hall;
–student-athletes that live off-campus with roommates must isolate at Troxel Hall;
–student-athletes that live off-campus alone have the option to isolate at Troxel Hall or remain in their apartment; or
–student-athletes that are Rio Grande Valley natives have the option to isolate at Troxel Hall or at home with family.
Conque added that once in isolation student-athletes are in constant communication with coaches and staff and food is provided by Sodexo.
“We work with Sodexo, phenomenal partnership with Sodexo, food is provided to our student-athletes during their time,” Conque said. “They’re in constant communication with coaches, obviously be it virtually, with our athletic training, sports medicine staff, and our physicians.”
According to Conque, student-athletes must be in isolation for a 10-day period. After 10 days, student-athletes do not have to produce a negative COVID-19 test result to be released.
Student-athletes however have to be medically cleared by UTRGV Athletics physicians, follow recommendations from the WAC Medical Advisory Committee and enter an extensive resocialization process to be cleared to return to their respective programs.
“That’s overseen by our medical physicians, our sports medicine physicians and so it requires an EKG, other reviews by our medical team and then it’s usually a 5 to 7-day transition to get them back into the sport. That’s all overseen by Dr. [Jimmy Gonzalez, UTRGV Athletics Team Physician and Medical Director ] and Dr. [Evan Perez, UTRGV School of Medicine Assistant Professor].”
Conque added that UTRGV Athletics is taking every precaution necessary in order to provide student-athletes an opportunity to play college athletics amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Vaquero Radio, I’m Luis Rubio.
