Less than 72 hours after being named the Pac-12 North Division Champions the Huskies saw their right to play Pac-12 South Division Champions USC Trojans denied due to a Covid 19 outbreak.
Statement from Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen
“I am crushed for our student-athletes, coaches and staff who have worked tirelessly to find a healthy way to compete this season. Husky student-athletes come to Washington to compete for championships, so this one really hurts for everyone involved — our students, our coaches and our community of loyal Husky fans and alumni. Our football program has battled through adversity all year during these challenging times, and I am so disappointed they won’t have the opportunity to play and represent the University of Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game Friday night.
The health and well-being of our students has been, and will always be, our top priority. As we have done since the start of the pandemic, we have followed the guidance and direction from our medical professionals in making this decision. With our inability to practice, and the significant impact on a key position group, there is no medical path forward to play this week. Our focus is on working with our medical team to get our team healthy again so our student-athletes can return to practice and to post-season competition.”
The December 18th Pac-12 Championship game will now feature a Trojans and Oregon Ducks match up. Ironically the Huskies were awarded the Pac-12 North title despite canceling last Saturday’s game against the Oregon Ducks. The Huskies like everyone else in the World is battling the Covid-19 virus. The Oregon game was declared a no-contest because the Huskies were unable to field a full team according to Pac-12 standards
STRUGGLING TO FIELD A TEAM
The Pac-12 requires that each team field 53 available scholarship athletes for each football contest. During Monday’s press conference head coach, Jimmy Lake revealed that the Huskies had zero offensive line available to practice and play. The unavailability of the O-line was a combination of testing positive for the virus and contact tracing.
In addition to the offensive line Lake revealed that the whole team is under quarantine and being tested on a regular . More importantly Lake announced that none of the cases had any devastating side effects of the Covid-19.
“I do want to say that our team, the members that have tested positive, are doing well. They have mild symptoms and nothing extremely serious, and that’s really what I want the focus to be first and foremost. This has first always been about the health and safety of our players and our staff. Thankfully they are on the road to recovery and we are excited to get those guys back here soon.”
POSSIBLE BOWL GAME
The normal timeline for teams to recover from quarantine has been two weeks. That timeline would put the Huskies in line for a Bowl game. While some teams have shied away from playing in a bowl game the Huskies are not one of those teams.
“So we are extremely excited at the possibility of getting everybody healthy, first and foremost, and then seeing which game that is and trying to go out there and bring that bowl game championship trophy back here to the University of Washington.”
AUDIO CUTS FROM TODAY PRESS CONFERENCE
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