![‘We didn’t really have a choice’: Wisconsin Chancellor Blank on halting fall sports including football [WTMJ Exclusive]](https://wtmj.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-1179286739-scaled.jpg)
MADISON- A coronavirus outbreak among members of the University of Wisconsin football program has forced the cancellation of this upcoming weekend’s matchup against Nebraska.
The university announced plans to pause team activities and cancel the game on their website. A portion of the university’s statement is below:
“We have said from the beginning that the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff members comes first,” Alvarez said. “Over the past several days we have seen a rising number of student-athletes and staff contract the virus. The responsible thing for us to do is to pause football-related activities for at least seven days.”
“We thank and appreciate our athletic trainers, doctors and public health staff who are supporting the health and safety of our student-athletes and program,” said Blank.
As of Wednesday morning (Oct. 28), a total of 12 people within the Wisconsin football program had tested positive for COVID-19 in the past five days. That figure includes six student-athletes and six staff members, including head coach Paul Chryst. Additional test results are pending.
Speculation over the status of Saturday’s game taking place began over the weekend after reports surfaced that starting quarterback Graham Mertz tested positive for coronavirus. During a media session on Monday Chryst said he was confident that Saturday’s game would take place.
Per Big 10 conference rules, the game will be declared a no-contest.
The Badgers next scheduled game is a home tilt against Purdue on November 7th.
