COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University’s Saturday game against Maryland has been canceled and will not be rescheduled after eight Maryland football players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week.
The joint decision to pause football activities was made by Maryland’s Director of Athletics Damon Evans and university President Darryl Pines after a recommendation from university health officials and in consultation with the Big Ten conference due to an elevated number of COVID-19 cases in Maryland’s athletic program, according to a news release from the university.
"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, but the responsible thing for us to do is pause football activities, given the number of positive cases currently in our program."
"We're obviously extremely disappointed that we'll be unable to host Ohio State this Saturday," said head coach Michael Locksley. "It was an opportunity that our team was preparing for and excited about. However, we have and always will keep our players, coaches and staffs safety at the forefront of our decision-making process. We'll continue to operate as much as we can virtually as we monitor the situation in hopes of returning to play when it's deemed safe."
A total of 10 student-athletes have tested positive between Sept. 30 and Nov. 10, with 1,510 on-campus PCR screening tests conducted, Maryland officials said.
“The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes is our main concern,” OSU head football coach Ryan Day said. “Obviously, we are disappointed at not being able to compete this week, but I am incredibly proud of our team and the way they have handled themselves throughout this entire pandemic.
“We wish Maryland, their student-athletes and programs well as they battle through this issue.”
