Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, the school announced.
Davis retested Tuesday to confirm the positive test, and that result is still pending.
“The team is going through contact tracing, and those found to be a close contact will go into quarantine per medical guidelines,” a school statement read. “If Tuesday’s test also comes back positive, Coach Davis will remain in isolation at his home and miss the first two games of the season.”
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 17, 2020
Assistant coach Ronnie Hamilton will serve as the team’s interim head coach.
The Rebels are expected to open the season on Nov. 25 against Central Arkansas, followed by games on Nov. 26 against Jackson State and Nov. 27 against Arkansas State. Ole Miss will host all three games.
Davis is the third major-conference head coach to test positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, following Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.
More than 20 men’s basketball programs nationally have paused team activities due to positive COVID-19 tests. Delaware and UMass were the latest to shut down on Tuesday.