Terps Football Game Canceled; Players Catch Coronavirus: Report

Bowie MD

11 November, 2020

5:38 PM

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COLLEGE PARK, MD — Maryland canceled this weekend's football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The school announced the decision Wednesday afternoon, saying eight Terrapins tested positive for coronavirus in the last week. School policy prohibits the team from releasing the names of those players. The home game was previously scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The teams will not reschedule a makeup date. "We're obviously extremely disappointed," Head Coach Michael Locksley said in a press release. "However, we have and always will keep our players, coaches and staffs safety at the forefront of our decision making process." Locksley added that the team will continue meeting virtually until it's safe to resume in-person activities. All football operations are on pause until further notice. Maryland is next slated for a home matchup against the 1-2 Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 21. It is unclear whether this game will continue as scheduled. Maryand now has four games left in its shortened season. The 2-1 Terrapins are third in the Big Ten East. The 3-0 Buckeyes are first in the conference and ranked third in the nation. The cancellation was a joint decision made by Director of Athletics Damon Evans and University of Maryland President Darryll Pines. The duo consulted the Big Ten Conference before finalizing the plan. "There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff," Evans said. "We realize that this news is disappointing to all of the Maryland fans out there who were looking forward to the Terps taking on an outstanding Ohio State team." Big-Ten football and basketball players are tested daily. All other conference athletes are tested weekly. Across all the school's sports, 10 student-athletes have tested positive. "The responsible thing for us to do is pause football activities, given the number of positive cases currently in our program," Evans said. RELATED: Football Returns To College Park, Terps To Play Shortened Season Have a story idea? Please contact me at [email protected] with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.