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Badgers AD Barry Alvarez gives explanation behind Wisconsin-Purdue cancellation
Published:
This Saturday’s scheduled game between Wisconsin and Purdue has been cancelled due to the number of coronavirus cases within the Badgers program.
The announcement has a familiar ring to it.
Wisconsin was forced to cancel their game with Nebraska scheduled for Oct. 31 for the same reasons, which included starting quarterback Graham Mertz and head coach Paul Chryst. The original number of 12 cases that forced the cancellation had risen to 22 by game time.
Back on Oct. 28 athletic director Barry Alvarez initially announced the team would be pausing all football related activities for seven days, but today’s statement says the program’s halt will be indefinite.
“I share in the disappointment of our student-athletes and staff,” 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.”
More comments from Alvarez are below.
#Badgers AD Barry Alvarez says they still haven't found orginal source of the virus within the team.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) November 3, 2020
Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez: "I was hopeful we could corral this. This virus has been way too fickle. We haven't been able to put our finger on it yet."
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 3, 2020
Wisconsin, which is cancelling its game vs Purdue this weekend due to the Covid outbreak with the Badgers program, says there are now 27 active cases in the program, all since Saturday, Oct. 24.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 3, 2020
#Badgers AD Barry Alvarez said UW has yet to hit "red-red" level, which is an auto shutdown.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) November 3, 2020
#Badgers AD Barry Alvarez said he was optimistic/confident the Purdue game could be played but more positive cases in last couple of days changed that.
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) November 3, 2020
Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez: "We’ll continue to adjust how we meet, how we practice. I thought we had a very good plan on how we feed the players and how they go through the line. But, apparently, we don’t have all the answers."
— Jesse Temple (@jessetemple) November 3, 2020
Scott Schultz covers Michigan State Football, along with Breaking News for B1G Football & Basketball for Saturday Tradition. He also serves as an Automotive News Editor & Writer, and Softball Writer elsewhere on the web. Follow him on Twitter @SRSchultz.