A little confusion has been straightened out.
Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione went on an Oklahoma City radio station Wednesday afternoon for a segment with columnist Berry Tramel (The Oklahoman). At the tail end of the interview, Tramel asked Castiglione about the upcoming spring game in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Oklahoma spring game is scheduled for April 18 at 5 p.m. CT. At least it was.
“Basically we’re saying the reality—there’s just not anyway we are going to have it,” Castiglione said. “It’s hard to even say when and if we’ll be able to return to any type of practice in the next 30 to 45 days.”
Castiglione backed off his strong, impromptu statement on the game in a later released statement from Oklahoma football. The spring game has not been fully canceled, but in a waiting period.
“We’ve been receiving a lot of questions about whether the spring game will be held on April 18, or even at all,” he said in a press release. “The fact of the matter is it would be virtually impossible to hold the game on the originally scheduled date since we’re not sure when or if we’ll be able to return to practice. So in talking with Coach (Lincoln) Riley, we feel at the very least it’s appropriate to announce that the game and associated activities will not occur on April 18.
“Given all of the unknowns we’re facing, it’s impossible to determine right now when or if the game will be rescheduled. We will continue to communicate updates as information becomes available.”
This is still an expected blow to Lincoln Riley, who has made the spring game weekend a priority recruiting even for upcoming recruiting classes. Baker Mayfield was set to have his Heisman Trophy statue unveiled in the stadium during the game.
The Big 12 Conference has yet to cancel spring football practices and games for its 10 member league. The ACC and SEC have already canceled spring practices and games entirely for their respective conferences.
According to multiple reports after Castiglione’s radio segment, the expectation is that Oklahoma’s spring game will not take place.
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