BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - - The Southeastern Conference has selected PAE to provide COVID-19 testing services for in-season fall sports at each of the 14 SEC campuses. The Conference and PAE have been working together since mid-August to implement testing protocols for fall sports.  Teaming with Premier Medical Group, PAE deployed test teams to each campus earlier this month to begin testing and all related logistics for SEC sports, Commissioner Greg Sankey said on Wednesday. 

“The SEC is committed to the health of its student-athletes, coaches, officials and all others around our athletics events, and it is clear that testing is a critical element of maintaining a healthy environment for competition,” said Sankey.  “For 65 years, PAE has tackled some of the world's toughest challenges and has delivered effective solutions.  This agreement represents a commitment on the part of the 14 universities of the SEC to deliver an effective solution in challenging times.” 

The SEC secured PAE to standardize and provide the quality surveillance and pre-competition testing program across all 14 SEC campuses.  In addition to the test teams at each SEC institution, PAE has dedicated staff members to manage the program including Western Division and Eastern Division program managers.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the current “gold standard” testing method for the COVID-19 virus as identified by the NCAA’s Resocialization of College Sports Guidelines. Alternative testing methods may be considered if sufficient data develops to support those methods.

PAE's experience in complex project management and operational logistics was a key factor in SEC selecting the company as its COVID-19 test provider. With a global workforce of about 20,000 on all seven continents and in approximately 60 countries, PAE delivers a broad range of operational support services to meet the critical needs of its clients.

Having served on the front lines of the Ebola crisis, mobilizing and supporting treatment units and a field hospital in Liberia for USAID in 2014 and 2015 gives PAE an advantage in responding to the current pandemic. Today, PAE is serving the state of Georgia for COVID-19 care, having mobilized a 200-bed Alternate Care Facility in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in April 2020, which PAE continues to operate to meet the state's ongoing demand during the pandemic.