[jwplayer 9tjU7C84]
Due to an outbreak among players, coaches and staff on the University of Florida’s football team, the game between UF and the LSU Tigers this Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium has been rescheduled for Dec. 12 at the same venue.
Initially, five cases were reported on Tuesday by the university when UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin announced that football-related activities were immediately suspended before Payton Titus of The Independent Florida Alligator reported that the actual number of positive tests on the team was 19. That report was later confirmed by multiple outlets.
Stricklin offered the following statement, clarifying the actual number of those infected.
“Among our scholarship players, we have 18 current positives. We have another three walk-ons who are positive, so a total of 21 current team members, and when you add in those who are quarantined through contact tracing as a result of those positives, in addition to a handful of players who are on the non-COVID injury list, it gives the Gators less than 50 scholarship players available currently. Fortunately, all those who are positive in this instance, including some coaches and some football staff, they seem to be either asymptomatic or only experiencing mild symptoms so that’s obviously a positive right now and hopefully they’ll continue to not have more severe symptoms.”
Interestingly, the two schools have a recent history of game interrupted by forces beyond our control — back in 2016 the two programs switched home games to accommodate Hurricane Matthew’s passing of North Florida.
[lawrence-related id=25741,25736,25732,25724,25719]