Virginia Tech football set to return with voluntary workouts in Blacksburg beginning this week

Virginia Tech Athletics is preparing this week to open the Beamer-Lawson Practice Facility and the Steve Johnson practice fields for voluntary football strength and conditioning workouts.

“Our foremost priority continues to be the health and welfare of our student-athletes and staff, as well as the Virginia Tech and surrounding communities,” said Dr. Mark Rogers, chief medical officer for Virginia Tech Athletics. “We will continue to evaluate our protocols to ensure these workouts are conducted in strict adherence with current health and safety guidelines.”

Rogers said student-athletes wishing to participate will undergo screening protocols prior to being cleared to participate and will be monitored on a daily basis, in line with standards established by the Commonwealth of Virginia and Montgomery County public health officials.

Small-group workouts supervised by Coach Ben Hilgart and his staff will be limited to the Beamer-Lawson Practice Facility and the Steve Johnson practice fields. The locker room and other common football areas will remain closed at this time.

In conjunction with Mike Goforth and Tech’s Sports Medicine team, all participating athletes and staff will wear recommended personal protective equipment upon entering team facilities.

“An abundance of caution will be utilized to ensure all equipment is sanitized appropriately between workout groups,” Rogers said.

Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said the staged return of student-athletes is one of the first steps in the university’s plan to return to on-campus instruction this fall, along with in-person clinical programs and some research operations that are also preparing to ramp up this summer.

“As our leadership team continues to plan for how our student-athletes will return to competition this fall, we recognize the need for them to have the support and facilities offered by the university,” Sands said.  “We are pleased to see our football players return in small cohorts and following the required public health guidelines. I have confidence that our Athletic Director Whit Babcock and his team will create the right training opportunity and welcome our student athletes with their safety and the entire community’s well-being as a top priority.”