Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez Says Football Program Has 22 Positive COVID-19 Tests

Wisconsin's COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow amid a rough week for the football program.

Athletic director Barry Alvarez provided an update on ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday morning and said the program has 22 positive COVID-19 tests. The results include 10 staff members and 12 players.

"So we are still having additions in our cases, and that's something we have to get our arms around and control of," Alvarez said, per Saturday Tradition.

He added that the Badgers are evaluating their upcoming game against Purdue on Nov. 7 and will make a decision on their Week 3 status on Tuesday.

If Wisconsin can't play Purdue, it will drop the team to a six-game schedule, which is the minimum needed to contend for the Big Ten championship. The league is playing an eight-game, conference-only schedule this fall and has no bye weeks to make up missed games. Since teams will be playing a different number of games, the Big Ten will determine division standings based on winning percentage.

The Badgers were forced to cancel Saturday's game against Nebraska on Wednesday after they registered 12 positive COVID-19 tests within the program. Head coach Paul Chryst is among those who tested positive, and he has to self-isolate for 10 days. By Thursday, the team's number of cases grew to 16. 

The canceled game will result in a "no contest" ruling from the Big Ten. It will not be made up due to the conference's schedule constraints.

After the decision was announced, Nebraska attempted to schedule a non-conference game against Chattanooga. The Big Ten rejected it since its teams agreed to play a conference-only schedule.