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A look inside Allegiant Stadium for a UNLV football game day. It’s a new day for the college program.
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020 | 1:45 p.m.
It was only a matter of time until COVID-19 intruded on the UNLV football schedule.
The Mountain West announced that this weekend’s game between UNLV and Colorado State has been canceled due to an outbreak of infections within the UNLV program. It’s the first game UNLV has had to cancel or reschedule this season.
The game was set to be played in Fort Collins on Saturday, but four positive tests prompted the league to call off the contest. Under Mountain West protocols, a positivity rate higher than 7.5 percent among one program during the week is grounds for cancelation.
In a statement, UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois agreed with the league’s decision.
“Unfortunately, with a surge in cases in the Las Vegas community and despite the efforts of our student-athletes, coaches and staff to adhere to health and safety protocols, the decision to not play this weekend is in the best health and safety interests of all involved,” Reed-Francois said.
The cancelation is even more ill-timed for winless UNLV (0-4), considering the matchup against Colorado State (1-2) looked like one of the more winnable games remaining on the schedule.
“We are very disappointed to not be playing CSU this weekend but understand the circumstances,” UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo said via a statement. “We look forward to playing again as soon as possible.”
The Mountain West’s short statement did not use the term “cancel,” leaving open the possibility of making up the game later in the season, though it seems unlikely either team will be close enough to the top of the standings for it to matter.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
