Santa Clara County investigates SJSU’s travel plans ahead of Arizona Bowl

SAN JOSE — Enforcement officers from Santa Clara County’s public health office are investigating whether the San Jose State football team has violated COVID-19 directives by returning home this week with plans to leave Sunday to play in a bowl game in Tucson, Arizona.

County Executive Dr. Jeff Smith said Monday that San Jose State could face fines, legal action and the team could even be stopped from boarding a flight Sunday to head to the Arizona Bowl if the Spartans do try to leave before their county-mandated quarantine ends.

“Hopefully, it won’t get to that point,” Smith told the Bay Area News Group.

Questions surfaced when the No. 19 Spartans returned to campus the morning after winning their first Mountain West Conference title Saturday in Las Vegas. Because they returned from more than 150 miles away the traveling party is supposed to isolate for 10 days, according to a county directive.

But it seemed Monday county officials and San Jose State administrators had different interpretations of those guidelines.

School spokesman Kenneth Mashinchi said Monday evening SJSU based its travel plan on county directives that allowed players and staff who live outside Santa Clara County to leave immediately after landing instead of having to quarantine for 10 days.

However, Smith said everyone who traveled to the county from Las Vegas is supposed to quarantine for 10 days “without exception.”

“You shouldn’t be with other people; you should be isolating by yourself,” he said, adding that meeting family members for the holiday also is wrong. “Celebrating doesn’t meet that criteria,” Smith said.

Mashinchi also said the players and staff staying in Santa Clara County planned to quarantine at home. However, the stay would fall short of the 10-day quarantine order if they depart Sunday as planned.

“They have been instructed to leave only to get tested and to depart for Tucson,” Mashinchi said in an email.

The players and coaching staff planned to break from football activities this week so players had a chance to see family for the first time since July 14, coach Brent Brennan said Monday during his weekly news conference.

“Giving them a chance to go home and be with their people was the right thing to do,” he said. “It was right for their mental health.”

But such action might violate the state and county’s stay-at-home orders implemented because of the high case rates and a limited number of ICU beds during the current COVID-19 surge.

“This is not an appropriate protocol and doesn’t protect anybody against anything,” Smith said on the day Gov. Gavin Newsom said it is likely California will extend stay-home orders into 2021.

According to the directive listed on the county’s website, “All gatherings with members of other households are prohibited in the Region except as expressly permitted herein.”

San Jose State (7-0) is scheduled to play Mid-American Conference champion Ball State (6-1) in the Arizona Bowl on Dec. 31.

If the quarantine were followed, the team would not be able to practice or travel to Tucson until the day before the game.

Smith, who has been a vocal critic of college sports teams trying to play during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the school’s plan sends “a really bad message.”

But Mashinchi said the school has followed county and state public health guidelines. “Our student-athletes and staff have been extremely diligent in being safe and responsible during the pandemic,” he said.

Brennan said the football team did not consider staying in Las Vegas or going directly to Tucson after defeating Boise State 34-20 in the conference championship.

The team had been on the road for 17 days to finish the regular season outside of Santa Clara County, which had banned all contact sports last month.

Brennan said it was important to let the players see their family members, especially those who were reared by grandparents. He said players expressed concerns about not being able to see grandparents, who are in a higher-risk age group for suffering serious harm from COVID-19.

Brennan said SJSU asked players to request family members get tested for the virus before their visits.

“A big part of it for them is their COVID discipline while they are away from us,” he said. “Trying to protect that process. Our team has been amazing at that.”

The football team has reported just a few positive tests, most coming during summer training. The Spartans had two games canceled this season when Fresno State and Boise State had COVID-19 issues.

Brennan said coaches told players in a Zoom meeting in July that the team with the best COVID discipline will win the Mountain West championship.

“I feel like that happened,” he said.

The traveling party was tested in Las Vegas on Sunday, an athletic department spokesman said. Everyone planning to go to the bowl game is scheduled to get tested Saturday. Only those who test negative will be allowed to go to Tucson, the spokesman said.

At least 15 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, including Stanford, USC, Penn State and Boise State, have declined to play bowl games this year because of the novel coronavirus.

But Brennan said opting out of a postseason game was not considered for a team having its best season since 1939.

Cold water on Arizona rumors

Brennan was also asked whether he had spoken to the University of Arizona regarding its coaching vacancy, but once again sidestepped the question. Before a reporter could finish asking a question about the job, Brennan held up a miniature stop sign with his motto, “Stop, I’m climbing the mountain.”

“Anytime you win, there’s going to be those questions,” Brennan said. “Those things are going to come up. People in the athletics world, in the media world all want to try and find something to talk about or fill in the void with it. I think when those conversations start, it’s really a reflection of what’s happening here at San Jose State. It’s a reflection of what’s happening with our players and what this team has accomplished.”

Of course, Brennan may not be able to avoid the questions once he arrives on the ground in Tucson, where the Spartans will play on Arizona’s campus for the Arizona Bowl. His name has come up in the Wildcats’ coaching search after Kevin Sumlin was fired following an 0-5 season.

Brennan has roots at both schools and has spoken about his loyalty to San Jose State. He was a graduate assistant under Dick Tomey at Arizona before working as an assistant under him at San Jose State.

Correspondent Justice delos Santos contributed to this story.