Santa Clara County issued new guidelines Saturday, including a temporary ban on all contact sports at the high school, collegiate and professional level after a rise in statewide
coronavirus cases.
San Jose State’s football and men’s basketball were already facing several canceled games after a string of complications regarding COVID-19 contact tracing and testing protocols.
Mountain West announced on Twitter Saturday that San Jose State’s football game against Boise State, which was scheduled for the same day, was canceled because of case increases within Boise’s program.
The cancellation was announced after the team already traveled to Boise State.
“We arrived in Boise on Friday and learned this news Saturday morning,” SJSU Athletics Director Marie Tuite said in a news release. “Our players and coaches were looking forward to this game with great anticipation. It is a big disappointment to everyone that we are not able to play this game.”
The men’s basketball team had its season opener against Simpson University canceled last week because of an issue with COVID-19 testing protocols within Simpson’s
athletic program.
“The Simpson COVID-19 tests were not delivered to the lab in a timely manner by UPS,” the university’s athletic department website stated Wednesday. “The tests were sent Monday from Simpson to comply with the required 48 hour turnaround time, but UPS did not deliver them to the lab.”
Santa Clara County public health department announced on Saturday that all collegiate sports would be postponed because of rises in COVID-19 cases. According to the Santa Clara County Public Health website, there were over 35,000 total cases and 801 new cases yesterday.
“I know this is not what any of us want to hear, nor is this situation one any of us want to be in, but here we are,” Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said in a Saturday news conference.
The new guidelines went into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and will last until Dec. 21, though they may be extended again by the county.
“All recreational activities that involve physical contact or close proximity to persons outside one’s household, including all contact sports, will be temporarily prohibited,” Santa Clara County public health department said at the news release Saturday regarding the new mandates. “People can continue to engage in outdoor athletics and recreation, where social distancing can be maintained at all times.”
SJSU Athletics met with county officials Sunday to determine the best course of action moving forward.
“We have several sports impacted – including football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and gymnastics,” Tuite said in a statement Sunday. “We are in a fluid situation with our football and basketball teams since their seasons are in progress. We will make decisions on team practices and when and where our contests are being played in conjunction with university administration and the Mountain West.”
Both men’s and women’s basketball games have been canceled this week and SJSU football is looking for a location to play the University of Hawaii Saturday.
SJSU football head coach Brent Brennan said in a Monday Zoom conference the team had a practice Sunday and were off Monday, but the team is missing game experience after its last two games were canceled.
“Going into those last two games, we were playing good football,” Brennan said. “Missing two weeks in a row and not being able to play is definitely a negative for us and Hawaii has that advantage because they’ve been able to play.”
Tuite said the team has been looking at options for locations to hold practices and play games, but no decisions have been made.
The new guidelines state that any person traveling outside a 150-mile radius is required to quarantine for 14 days after returning to Santa Clara County, something that SJSU Athletics is keeping in mind.
Tuite clarified the new mandates are not a result of new cases within SJSU’s sports programs, but rather a response to rising cases in Santa Clara County as a whole.
“The County was very clear that the surge in Santa Clara County led to additional guidelines for us to follow,” Tuite said. “They did not specifically reference concerns with any
particular constituencies.”
