1. "Conclusions and relevance This time-series, cross-sectional matching study with a difference-in-differences design did not find an increase in COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the counties where NFL and NCAA games were held with in-person attendance. Our study suggests that NFL and NCAA football games hosted with limited in-person attendance do not cause a significant increase in local COVID-19 cases.
Findings This time-series, cross-sectional study of U.S. counties with NFL and NCAA football games used matching and difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of games with limited in-person attendance on county-level COVID-19 spread. Our study does not find an increase in county-level COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents due to NFL and NCAA football games held with limited in-person attendance.
Meaning: This study suggests that NFL and NCAA games held with limited in-person attendance do not cause an increase in COVID-19 cases in the counties they are held."
Asmae Toumi, Haoruo Zhao, Jagpreet Chhatwal, Benjamin P. Linas & Turgay Ayer, “The Effect of NFL and NCAA Football Games on the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States: An Empirical Analysis,” medRxiv, copied 2/21/2021, at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.15.21251745v1
2. Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick, “The Pandemic’s Toll on College Football,” NY Times, 12/11/2020, at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/the-pandemics-toll-on-college-football.html
"A Times analysis uncovered a sobering number of coronavirus cases in college athletic departments.
Now, for the first time, a New York Times analysis has begun to quantify the toll: At least 6,629 people who play and work in athletic departments that compete in college football’s premier leagues have contracted the virus.
Not all athletic departments break down infections by sport. However, football accounts for many — but nowhere near all — of those athletes, while also claiming much of the attention paid to college athletics.
The Times managed to get complete data from only 78 of the 130 universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Football Bowl Subdivision. Some universities shared data willingly; several complied only after The Times filed requests under public records laws. Many schools stopped releasing information just ahead of football season, which is when most documented cases started.
“We had these numbers saying how many cases there are, but the reality is the number is much bigger than that,” said our colleague Alan Blinder, who reported the story with Lauryn Higgins and Benjamin Guggenheim.
As the season dragged on, the virus spread through programs. Coaches tested positive. Players tested positive. And schools canceled game after game, as outbreaks ballooned.
It certainly could have been worse.
Many of the positive cases were asymptomatic, and no athletic department that shared data reported any deaths associated with the virus. Experts believe that virtually none of the infections in college sports are linked to the games themselves, with cases far more often traceable to meetings, meals, travel or nonathletic activities.
“People who wanted colleges to play this fall will say that, when you consider that many athletic departments would be in deeper financial trouble without football, perhaps the risk was worth it,” Alan said, “especially since we don’t know of any deaths in top-tier athletic departments or any transmissions linked to the actual playing of football. But plenty of other people will see these numbers, nod their heads and say ‘told you.’”
Findings This time-series, cross-sectional study of U.S. counties with NFL and NCAA football games used matching and difference-in-differences design to estimate the effect of games with limited in-person attendance on county-level COVID-19 spread. Our study does not find an increase in county-level COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents due to NFL and NCAA football games held with limited in-person attendance.
Meaning: This study suggests that NFL and NCAA games held with limited in-person attendance do not cause an increase in COVID-19 cases in the counties they are held."
Asmae Toumi, Haoruo Zhao, Jagpreet Chhatwal, Benjamin P. Linas & Turgay Ayer, “The Effect of NFL and NCAA Football Games on the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States: An Empirical Analysis,” medRxiv, copied 2/21/2021, at https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.15.21251745v1
2. Amelia Nierenberg and Adam Pasick, “The Pandemic’s Toll on College Football,” NY Times, 12/11/2020, at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/the-pandemics-toll-on-college-football.html
"A Times analysis uncovered a sobering number of coronavirus cases in college athletic departments.
Now, for the first time, a New York Times analysis has begun to quantify the toll: At least 6,629 people who play and work in athletic departments that compete in college football’s premier leagues have contracted the virus.
Not all athletic departments break down infections by sport. However, football accounts for many — but nowhere near all — of those athletes, while also claiming much of the attention paid to college athletics.
The Times managed to get complete data from only 78 of the 130 universities in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Football Bowl Subdivision. Some universities shared data willingly; several complied only after The Times filed requests under public records laws. Many schools stopped releasing information just ahead of football season, which is when most documented cases started.
“We had these numbers saying how many cases there are, but the reality is the number is much bigger than that,” said our colleague Alan Blinder, who reported the story with Lauryn Higgins and Benjamin Guggenheim.
As the season dragged on, the virus spread through programs. Coaches tested positive. Players tested positive. And schools canceled game after game, as outbreaks ballooned.
It certainly could have been worse.
Many of the positive cases were asymptomatic, and no athletic department that shared data reported any deaths associated with the virus. Experts believe that virtually none of the infections in college sports are linked to the games themselves, with cases far more often traceable to meetings, meals, travel or nonathletic activities.
“People who wanted colleges to play this fall will say that, when you consider that many athletic departments would be in deeper financial trouble without football, perhaps the risk was worth it,” Alan said, “especially since we don’t know of any deaths in top-tier athletic departments or any transmissions linked to the actual playing of football. But plenty of other people will see these numbers, nod their heads and say ‘told you.’”
