EAST LANSING- Between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, Michigan State University administered 56 COVID-19 PCR tests on student-athletes and staff members. Of the 56 tests conducted, 24 tests were given to student-athletes, of which two tests came back positive. The other 32 tests were given to staff members, which yielded no positive results.

Any student-athletes or athletic department staff members who are currently taking part in men’s and women’s basketball, football and hockey are being administered a daily antigen test by the Big Ten.

Any student-athlete or staff member who tested positive will receive daily check-ins with the athletic training staff while they are in isolation; they will also receive additional services as directed by the medical and administrative staff. Before they can return to workouts and practice, they will require further testing and a physician follow-up.

The Michigan State men’s basketball team was forced to postpone their scheduled game against No. 18 Virginia earlier this week due to COVID-19 issues within the Cavaliers’ program; the hockey team also lost out on a scheduled series this week against Wisconsin after the Badgers had COVID-19 issues of their own. 

Overall, the Big Ten has had to cancel 10 football games because of COVID-19 this season, including Michigan vs. Ohio State and Purdue vs. Indiana this weekend.

The Big Ten announced earlier this week that it has changed its rule, which required teams to play at least six games to compete in the conference championship game. This will allow Ohio State to be eligible, despite having three of their games canceled due to COVID-19.

Since MSU began testing in June, they have conducted over 3,200 COVID-19 PCR tests. In total, 174 student-athletes, and 13 staff members have contracted the virus.

The latest test results for COVID-19 within the MSU community can be found here.