The global pandemic of the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the world of sports.
During his monthly radio appearance on the Husker Sports Network on Monday night, Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos delivered some news that wasn’t a surprise but was still another disappointing blow.
After the NCAA temporarily suspended all sports competitions and organized team events last week, Moos confirmed that NU's annual Red-White Spring Game would not be played on April 18 as scheduled.
Even worse, he said the game would likely not happen at all.
“I will say this: The Spring Game is not going to be on the 18th of April and probably will not occur at all,” Moos said. “I hate to say that. We’ve got so many that that’s their opportunity to see the Huskers. We’ve also been drawing nearly 90,000 fans for a spring game, and that’s far more than is being allowed or recommended by a variety of sources.
“There won’t be a spring football game on the 18th; most probably not one at all.”
One ray of hope Moos did share was that the Huskers could still make up their remaining 13 spring practices down the road. While many outside factors beyond Nebraska’s control will ultimately dictate that decision, Moos said NU is holding out hope.
“I think in a perfect world, if we can get our arms around the virus and people can start to feel comfortable in our environment where we’re at, maybe we could get those 13 practices in June or so in summer school,” Moos said.
In the meantime, Moos said dealing with the repercussions and concerns of the coronavirus was “pretty much 100 percent what we're focused on right now” for Nebraska’s university and athletics leadership.
He estimated that nearly half of NU’s roughly 650 total student-athletes were still on campus, which was something the athletic department strongly advised.
"Not mandate, but encourage," Moos says.
Another measure Nebraska has taken to provide and protect student-athletes was to keep its training table open, but added that on Monday officials decided to transition to a grab-and-go system as opposed to sit-down meals at tables.
"Our university is running,” Moos said. “Our athletic department is running."
Moos praised the “exceptional” leadership both at Nebraska and in the Big Ten while handling such unique and difficult circumstances. He said University president Ted Carter, chancellor Ronnie Green, and Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren had all been valuable leaders as the coronavirus situation has progressed.
“We’re experiencing, of course, something that’s new and frightening, but we’re being as cautious as we possibly can and of course keeping the safety and well-being and health of our student-athletes and our staff in the uppermost part of our mind,” Moos said.
