Maryland, Ohio State football game canceled after increased number of COVID-19 cases for Terps

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Maryland Football announced Wednesday it will pause all team-related activities due to an increased number of COVID-19 cases within the program. The Ohio State game scheduled for Saturday, November 14 has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

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The joint decision to pause football activities and cancel Saturday's game was made by Director of Athletics Damon Evans and University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, following a recommendation from university health officials, and in consultation with the Big Ten Conference. Over the past seven days, eight football players have tested positive for COVID-19.
 
"There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and staff," Evans said. "We realize that this news is disappointing to all of the Maryland fans out there who were looking forward to the Terps taking on an outstanding Ohio State team, but the responsible thing for us to do is pause football activities, given the number of positive cases currently in our program."

COLLEGE PARK, MD - AUGUST 4: A general view of Maryland Stadium on August 4, 2020 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)

"We're obviously extremely disappointed that we'll be unable to host Ohio State this Saturday," said head coach Michael Locksley. "It was an opportunity that our team was preparing for and excited about. However, we have and always will keep our players, coaches and staffs safety at the forefront of our decision making process. We'll continue to operate as much as we can virtually as we monitor the situation in hopes of returning to play when it's deemed safe."

As part of the Big Ten Conference protocols, football student-athletes began testing daily on September 30 and men's and women's basketball teams began testing daily on October 26. All other student-athletes will continue to be tested weekly.

In order to protect the privacy of those student-athletes who test positive, Maryland Athletics will continue to publicly release the aggregate number of positive tests at regular intervals.