MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Coronavirus has caught up with the University of Wisconsin Badgers football team.
All team related activities, including the game Saturday with Nebraska, have been put on hold for at least 7 days due to an elevated number of COVID 19 cases within the program.
Below is the statement put out today by the UW-Madison Athletic Department:
The Wisconsin football team will pause all team-related activities for at least seven days due to an elevated number of COVID-19 cases within the Badgers program.
The team’s scheduled game against Nebraska on Saturday will not be played.
The joint decision to pause football activities and cancel Saturday’s game was made by Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez and UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, in consultation with the Big Ten Conference. The game will not be rescheduled.
“We have said from the beginning that the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff members comes first,” Alvarez said.
“Over the past several days we have seen a rising number of student-athletes and staff contract the virus. The responsible thing for us to do is to pause football-related activities for at least seven days.”
“We thank and appreciate our athletic trainers, doctors and public health staff who are supporting the health and safety of our student-athletes and program,” said Blank.
As of Wednesday morning (Oct. 28), a total of 12 people within the Wisconsin football program had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past five days. That figure includes six student-athletes and six staff members, including head coach Paul Chryst.
Additional test results are pending.
