Sunday afternoon, the Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball program announced it had paused all basketball activities for 14 days because of a positive COVID-19 test.
The announcement came around the time the Kansas men’s basketball team was in the air en route from Fort Myers, Fla., to Indianapolis for Tuesday’s Champions Classic clash with Kentucky
The official release from SJU revealed that the test came from a member of St. Joe’s Tier 1 personnel, which is described by the NCAA as student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and physical therapists, medical staff, equipment staff and officials.
The Jayhawks defeated St. Joe’s 94-72 on Friday in Fort Myers.
A KU official told the Journal-World on Sunday evening that the Jayhawks were not impacted by the SJU news and that KU would not make any announcements regarding COVID-19 unless there was an issue.
The Jayhawks landed safely in Indianapolis just after 6 p.m. Sunday evening.
Here is how the NCAA broke down personnel distinctions for the 2020-21 basketball season prior to last week’s start.
Tier 1: This is the highest exposure tier and consists of individuals for whom physical distancing and face coverings are not possible or effective during athletic training or competition. Examples of relevant individuals include student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and physical therapists, medical staff, equipment staff and officials.
Tier 2: This is a moderate exposure tier and consists of individuals who come into close contact with Tier 1 individuals but can reasonably maintain physical distance and use face coverings. Examples of relevant individuals include certain team staff (e.g., executives) and certain operational staff (e.g., security, event staff and league staff).
Tier 3: This is the lowest exposure tier and includes individuals who provide event services but do not come into close contact with Tier 1 individuals (and should this occur, would be reclassified into Tier 2). Examples of relevant individuals include certain operational staff (e.g., housekeeping, catering, sanitation and transportation) and media/broadcast.
