The University of Massachusetts is canceling its 2020 football season, officials announced Tuesday.
Athletic Director Ryan Bamford said in a statement that attempting to play a season "would not have placed the members of our program in the safest situation possible."
Members of the football team have been practicing since late June. In that time, the department says more than 600 coronavirus tests were run on team members, and only one tested positive.
“We have been in constant communication with university leadership and our football staff since March, with the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff remaining our top priority," Bamford said, adding that the continuing challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic "posed too great of a risk."
In a statement, UMass football head coach Walt Bell called the news "devastating":
I am absolutely heartbroken for our players, our former players, our alumni and our UMass Football community. Our job as coaches and mentors is to provide opportunities for our players, and do everything in our power to not take them away. Today's news was devastating, but we will be resilient and prepared to be our best when our best is required.
While fall football games are canceled, UMass athletes will remain enrolled in full-time coursework at the university.
The cancelled fall season follows an incomplete spring season of athletic games at UMass. The NCAA canceled college sports in March in response to the pandemic.
"These times have presented us with extensive uncertainty, and we are disappointed for all the members of our fall sports programs who will not have the opportunity to compete this autumn," Bamford said. "We remain hopeful and fully intend to conduct a competitive schedule for our fall sports in the 2021 spring semester."
