Wisconsin's Game Against Purdue Canceled With 27 COVID-19 Cases in Program

No. 10 Wisconsin's game against Purdue on Nov. 7 has been canceled as the program continues to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak, the Badgers announced Tuesday.  

Wisconsin has 27 active COVID-19 cases within its program. The cases are comprised of 15 athletes and 12 staff members. All football activities remain paused. Saturday's game will not be rescheduled and will be ruled a "no contest" due to schedule restraints.

"I share in the disappointment of our student-athletes and staff," athletic director Barry Alvarez said. "We have seen a level of improvement in our testing numbers, but not enough to give us confidence to resume normal activities and play our game on Saturday. We will continue to test regularly, take the proper health-related precautions and look forward to getting our team back on the field as soon as possible."

The Badgers were forced to cancel their Week 2 contest against Nebraska due to 12 positive COVID-19 tests recorded last Wednesday. Alvarez provided an update on ESPN's College GameDay last Saturday morning and said the program had 22 positive cases, including 12 players and 10 staff members. 

Under Big Ten rules, players must self-isolate for 10 days once a positive result is confirmed. 

With the cancelations, Wisconsin is scheduled to play six games during the 2020 season, which is the minimum needed to contend for the Big Ten championship. If it is forced to cancel another contest, the program will not be eligible for the Big Ten championship game. 

The No. 10 Badgers are scheduled to play No. 23 Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. The team has played just one game this season, which was a 45-7 victory over Illinois.