The University of Connecticut announced Wednesday morning that it will suspend the season of its football program. UConn is the first FBS college, the sport’s top division in the NCAA, to make such a decision due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Huskies would play independently in 2020/2021 as they had reached an agreement to leave the AAC conference for the Big East.
“After receiving guidance from state and public health officials and consulting student-athletes in football, we have decided that we will not compete this season.”said the director of sports, David Benedict. “The safety challenges created by COVID-19 place our student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk.”
Team coach Randy Edsall said the team’s players were consulted before the decision was made. “We have listened to the concerns of our athletes and feel that this is the best decision for their health, safety and well-being.”said in a press release. “Our team is united in this approach and we will use this time to further player development within the program and prepare for the 2021 season.”
The announcement of the suspension of the season:
After receiving guidance from state and public health officials and consulting with football student-athletes, we’ve decided that @UConnFootball will not compete on the gridiron this season. https://t.co/R5dLlnFNo9
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) August 5, 2020
Namely, players will continue to be enrolled as students even without playing in official matches. The university also guaranteed their access to the complex’s sports facilities. Since the beginning of July, no athlete has been diagnosed with the coronavirus in UConn. “I support this decision and know that it was made in conjunction with and in the best interest of our student-athletes”said Thomas Katsouleas, president of the university.
The athletes themselves issued a statement saying: “As a team, we fully support the decision not to compete in 2020. We have many health issues and little is known about the possible long-term effects. Also, we didn’t have the ideal time to train mentally and physically to be properly prepared to compete. We love this game and we like to compete. We arrived on campus in early July, knowing that there would be challenges presented by the pandemic, but it seems these challenges are now impossible to overcome.”.
Team switched conferences
Uconn officially left the AAC on July 1. Upon departure, the college is expected to pay a total of $17 million to its former conference by 2026. The Huskies will now be members of the Big East, bringing all of its sports programs to the new home. Even the decision not to act in the current season was scrutinized by the Big East.
The last season was disastrous. The team only managed two wins, thus not reaching the postseason once again. Since 2015, Huskies haven’t known what it’s like to participate in a Bowl. Worse, UConn hasn’t had a positive campaign since 2010. The time without officially acting will need to be very well worked out in a program restructuring.
Foto: Twitter / UConn
