Purdue Football Head Coach Jeff Brohm Tests Positive for COVID-19

Purdue announced football head coach Jeff Brohm has tested positive for COVID-19, according to The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach. 

Brohm is isolating at home while awaiting the results of a PCR test for confirmation. The Boilermakers open up the season against Iowa on Saturday. 

The 49-year-old is the eighth FBS head coach to have a reported positive test for COVID-19, joining Les Miles (Kansas), Kevin Sumlin (Arizona), Chip Kelly (UCLA), Blake Anderson (Arkansas State), Jason Candle (Toledo) and Mike Norvell (Florida State). Alabama's Nick Saban tested positive this week, but he was cleared to return to the field for the Crimson Tide's 41-24 win over Georgia on Saturday following three consecutive negative tests.

Purdue and the rest of the Big Ten are scheduled to begin their football season on Saturday after reversing their Aug. 11 decision to postpone this season because of the coronavirus pandemic. Teams will play eight games in as many weeks, with no bye week before the Big Ten championship is played on Dec. 19. 

In August, the league's presidents and chancellors voted 11-3 to push the season back, prompting commissioner Kevin Warren to create a task force focused on creating guidelines for returning to play that  including daily testing.

The Big Ten has tested its football programs daily since Sept. 30, and players who test positive must wait three weeks before they return in order to undergo "comprehensive cardiac testing," per ESPN. Auerbach reported that coaches who test positive will follow recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; they should isolate for 10 days and then can return to their team if they are symptom-free for 24 hours afterward. 

If that is the case for Brohm, the fourth-year Boilermakers coach can return to the team for its Oct. 31 game against Illinois.