MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 20: The Minnesota Golden Gophers celebrate an interception by teammate Josh Aune #29 against the Purdue Boilermakers during the fourth quarter of the game at TCF Bank Stadium on November 20, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minn … (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Gophers football game against Northwestern Saturday has been canceled after the University of Minnesota reports 21 players and 26 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 since Nov. 19.
The U announced the decision on Monday, saying the team has also paused all team-related activities. The Gophers will also hold team meetings virtually for the remainder of the 2020 season. Saturday was supposed to be the final home game of the regular season.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff continues to be our main priority,” Minnesota Athletic Director Mark Coyle said Monday in a statement. “The last couple of days have shown a decrease in positive cases, but not to the point where we are able to return to competition. We are disappointed not to be able to compete against Northwestern on Saturday, but we need to continue to focus on following all CDC and MDH guidelines and slow the spread of the virus. We will now shift our priority to doing everything possible to compete at Nebraska on December 12, and our decisions will continue to be guided by our medical experts.”
The Northwestern game will not be rescheduled. The Gophers’ only game left this season is at Nebraska on Dec. 12.
This is the second-straight game the Gophers (2-3) have canceled due to the growing COVID-19 outbreak on the team. The Gophers also canceled last Saturday’s game against Wisconsin after nine players and six staff had tested positive. It's the first time since 1906 the rivalry game has not been played.
The Gophers are scheduled to get an additional game on Dec. 19 against an opponent from the Big Ten East, but details on that haven't been finalized.
Minnesota will provide its next COVID-19 update on Thursday.