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Wisconsin football hits pause button following spike in COVID-19 cases
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Wisconsin’s football team is taking a two-week recess from workouts due to a spike in COVID-19 cases on the university’s campus. Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was one of several to report the news on Wednesday.
The Badgers football and men’s hockey teams are shutting down operations due to the spike. The announcement came shortly after University of Wisconsin President Rebecca Blank had the campus shut down.
Online classes are scheduled to begin Monday, but face-to-face courses will not resume until Sept. 26.
“Our department has, all along, aligned with Chancellor Blank on messaging to our student-athletes the importance of safe behaviors and practices designed to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus,” Alvarez said in a statement. “I will continue to make sure our student-athletes and staff hear that message.
“We have been conducting our own COVID-19 testing of student-athletes and staff on a regular basis since early June and will continue to do so. Since we began testing in Athletics, our decision-making has been guided by our own test results. That continues to be our plan.”
The news comes as the B1G is working on a potential plan to reinstate the football and fall sports seasons, either later this fall or in the winter. No information on a potential target start date has been released from the conference.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB