Is Utah's New 'Season Opener' At UCLA Still In Jeopardy?
Disaster struck on Friday afternoon, just 24 hours before Utah was set to begin its 2020 college football season against Arizona.
News broke that the Pac-12 had granted Utah's request to cancel the game and declare it a no contest due to multiple positive COVID-19 cases within the program. As per the conference guidelines released a few weeks ago, a program may request a 'no contest' if they cannot meet the minimum number of scholarship players available after positive cases and contract tracing protocols.
According to Utah athletic director Mark Harlan, he and head coach Kyle Whittingham, as well as their medical advisors, met on Friday morning to discuss the recent number of positive cases and the contact tracing that would have to follow. They all decided that it was in their best interest — and those of Arizona — to cancel the game and do their best to contain the spread of the virus.
“This morning our test results included a number of positive cases, which put our team below the Pac-12’s minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship student-athletes, under the league’s game cancellation policy," Harlan said. "Coach Whittingham and I discussed this situation extensively, as well as with our medical advisors, and it was extremely clear that to go forward with the game would put our student-athletes at risk, and we simply will not take that risk. We immediately began a conversation with the Pac-12 office and Arizona Athletics Director Dave Heeke to make them aware of our situation and the resulting decision.
“We are continuing to take every precaution to safeguard the health and welfare of our student-athletes and staff, in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee’s procedures. Those with positive test results and those in contact tracing protocols are in isolation and receiving the appropriate care.
"We will continue to monitor our testing results and stay in close communication with our University, local public health officials and the Pac-12 Conference.”
The big question is what does this mean for Utah come Saturday night when they're set to open their season against UCLA down in Pasadena?
First things first, the game has moved to Saturday, originally scheduled for Friday. This will give the Utes one extra day of preparation and a chance to get even healthier. That's hugs.
According to sources, the Utes are moving forward with their preparations for UCLA after consecutive days of no positive tests. This is a huge deal as it means if healthy, Utah will be able to kickoff against the Bruins in their much anticipated season opener.
There's still a lot of time left from now until then. But if the early indications are of what's to come, it could signify good news for Utah and its fans.
“As difficult as this is, there is no question it is the right decision to make. Our student-athletes’ health and well-being is absolutely paramount and we will not put them at risk,” Whittingham said in a statement. “Our team has worked extremely hard to get to this point, and we will continue to care for our students-athletes and follow all protocols very thoroughly as we prepare for next week’s game.”
Want to share opinions or ask questions? We want to hear them! Making a profile is free and it only takes ~1 minute to set up. Also, be sure to like us on social media for future coverage:
Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka