One of 93 Boston College football players tests positive for coronavirus

Boston College football players gathered in June to begin voluntary workouts.Courtesy of Boston College

Out of the 93 football players who returned to Boston College for voluntary workouts last week, one tested positive for COVID-19, according to the school.

BC allowed players back on campus last week after the NCAA lifted its moratorium on campus activities in June. Players went through an eight-day quarantine before undergoing a round of tests.

Members of the strength staff also were tested. All of them came back negative. Coaches will be tested soon.

Players who tested negative began workouts Wednesday.

The number of confirmed cases for the Eagles is strikingly low compared with other programs around the country that returned to action last month. Most notably, Atlantic Coast Conference rival Clemson had 47 members of the athletic department test positive.

Even though the NCAA allowed programs to restart June 8, BC waited another two weeks before reopening campus for athletes. That gave the school time to craft a manual for players and families with protocols that included standard social distancing practices, daily temperature checks, face-covering requirements, and cleaning and sanitizing guidelines.

If a player tested positive, the Eagles had a plan in place for that athlete to quarantine alone.

While preseason camps are scheduled to begin this month, many programs have reported spikes in confirmed cases, leading to uncertainty about those camps proceeding, let alone a season.

Jeff Hafley and the BC football team had workouts last week.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

After bringing players back June 15, the University of Arizona halted its plans to return after a spike in cases in the area. UNLV suspended campus workouts last week after four players tested positive.

The idea of pushing the college football season back to the spring has been floated among several athletic directors. The Ivy League reportedly is exploring the option of playing a seven-game, conference-only schedule that would start in April.

A Senate hearing Wednesday intended to discuss athlete compensation shifted into a heated conversation between lawmakers and college officials about how schools were handling the pandemic.

University of Mississippi athletic director Keith Carter told Sports Illustrated, “On June 1, I was really optimistic about everything, but I’m less optimistic today about a normal start ... It’s time. We’re into July now. It’s time to decide ‘Hey, are we going to start on time or push this thing down the road?’ ”

The US reported more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, a single-day record. The upward trend paints a grim picture of the road ahead. As of Wednesday, there were 109,143 confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts with 8,074 deaths.