Big 12 stumbling out of gates to play football amid COVID as another game is postponed
The Big 12 is stumbling out of the gates with its plans to play a football season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Baylor-Louisiana Tech game scheduled for Saturday in Waco has been postponed, Baylor announced after multiple reports surfaced Tuesday night. That is the conference’s third game scheduled for opening weekend to be delayed amid the pandemic.
TCU-SMU had to postpone its scheduled opener with TCU having an outbreak amongst its players, and Oklahoma State-Tulsa is delayed at least a week because Tulsa had to pause its training camp due to COVID protocols.
The Baylor game sustained a setback after Louisiana Tech had an outbreak on the heels of Hurricane Laura, according to Yahoo’s Pete Thamel. Thamel said 38 players on Louisiana Tech’s roster had tested positive as Hurricane Laura eliminated power in 90% of the area for 7-10 days.
“That prompted many players to move elsewhere and made social distancing difficult, which contributed to the spread,” Thamel wrote.
The Big 12 expected disruptions early this season, commissioner Bob Bowlsby said earlier this week.
At the time, only TCU-SMU had been postponed but Bowlsby said he believed more games would be impacted by the virus.
The Big 12 is one of three Power Five conferences going forward with football during the pandemic. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have paused seasons for now.
Bowlsby cautioned that the league could end up in a similar situation as the Big Ten and Pac-12.
“We could find ourselves in the same situation that the Big Ten and the Pac-12 are in later in the season,” Bowlsby said on Monday. “I’m not prepared to have any bravado about it whatsoever. We’re just doing what we’re told and we’re taking it slow and we’re making small adjustments. … As of 12:31 on the seventh of September, we’re still playing games, and that’s a good thing. But how far down the path that goes is anyone’s guess.”
As far as Baylor and Louisiana Tech, the plan is to monitor dates for a potential makeup game. Both athletic directors issued statements Tuesday expressing their disappointment.
“We are incredibly disappointed to announce the postponement of our upcoming football game against Louisiana Tech,” Baylor AD Mack Rhoades said. “However, in the interest of the health and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, we are confident in this unfortunate but necessary course of action. To the Baylor and Louisiana Tech student-athletes and communities, we share in your disappointment and look ahead to resuming play.”
Said Louisiana Tech AD Tommy McClelland: “We are obviously very disappointed that we will not be able to open the season this weekend at Baylor. However, with the number of recent positive COVID-19 results and contact tracing, it is simply not possible. We would be putting our student-athletes at risk.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 9:16 PM.
