COVID: Cal Runs Out Of Healthy Players; Washington State Game Canceled Hours Before Kickoff
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/AP) -- With the clock counting down to a 1 p.m. kickoff, the Pacific-12 canceled the California-Washington State football game Saturday after the Golden Bears determined they could not dress enough healthy players to compete.
A Cal player tested positive just hours before the game and with contract tracing forced several others on the traveling squad to be sidelined.
"The Pac-12 has, after consultation with Cal, canceled the Cal at Washington State football game scheduled for later today, Saturday, December 12," the league said in a release.
"This decision was made under the Pac-12's football game cancellation policy due to Cal not having the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes available for the game as a result of one positive football student-athlete COVID-19 case confirmed via a PCR test today and resulting isolation of additional football student-athletes under contact tracing protocols."
The conference declared the game "a no contest."
"The cancellation of this game is very disappointing to our student-athletes and our fans," the league said in a release. "While all of us want to see our football student-athletes on the field competing, our number one priority must continue to be the health and safety of all those connected to Pac-12 football programs."
Cal (1-3) and Washington State (1-2) are struggling to qualify for postseason play. Neither team has an opponent set for next weekend.
"It's the right decision," Washington State athletic director Pat Chun said. "We're always going to err on the side of caution as a conference."
"With our team, to be Dec. 12 and have three games under our belt, this is 2020 football in a nutshell right now," Chun added.
Washington State coach Nick Rolovich joked to the team's radio announcers that perhaps Cal and the Cougars should engage in a snowball fight in snowy Martin Stadium instead.
It would have been Cal's first snow game since 1996, also in Pullman.
California flew to Washington State on Friday but never took the field on Saturday. A few dozen Washington State players were warming up on the field when the game was canceled.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report
