Maryland vs. No. 3 Ohio State canceled after positive COVID-19 cases
The University of Maryland’s game against No. 3 Ohio State this Saturday has been canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases on the football team, athletic department officials said Wednesday.
Eight Maryland players tested positive for the coronavirus over the past seven days. The game will not be rescheduled, per Big Ten Conference coronavirus guidelines. Also, all team-related activities have been paused due to positive cases on the team.
“There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff,” Director of Athletics Damon Evans said in a statement.
“We realize that this news is disappointing to all of the Maryland fans out there who were looking forward to the Terps taking on an outstanding Ohio State team, but the responsible thing for us to do is pause football activities, given the number of positive cases currently in our program.”
The decision was made by both Evans and President Darryll Pines, along with a recommendation from university health officials and in consultation with Big Ten Conference. According to the Maryland Athletics testing data, 120 student-athletes have tested positive since returning to campus this summer.
“We have and always will keep our players, coaches and staff’s safety at the forefront of our decision-making process,” Head Football Coach Mike Locksley said. “We’ll continue to operate as much as we can virtually as we monitor the situation in hopes of returning to play when it’s deemed safe.”
The cancelation also comes six days after university officials announced the university will transition back to online-learning only after the Thanksgiving holiday.
For Maryland’s football program, it is the third time since August that football-related activities shut down due to positive coronavirus tests.
The Terrapins are not alone with coronavirus problems. Throughout college campuses and football programs around the country, positive cases are up, causing the postponements of four SEC games and Navy’s matchup at Memphis.
Earlier in the season, Wisconsin had as many as 27 active cases at one time between players and staff, resulting in the cancellation of two games.
Maryland (2-1) is coming off a 35-19 victory at Penn State last Saturday. It has four more games scheduled for the season, with their next match at home against Michigan State slated for Nov. 21.
Courtesy Photo: Maryland Athletes
