The Rice Owls at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football game has been postponed due to COVID-19, both schools announced on Thursday.
The two schools were scheduled to meet at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston, La., on Saturday, Nov. 14. The game was postponed due to “…health and safety concerns within the Bulldog program.”
Due to injuries, COVID positive cases and contact tracing, the Bulldogs have one position group that is too thin to play the game without risking the health of its players.
“We are very disappointed that we cannot host Rice this weekend, but it is simply a case of not having enough healthy players at one position,” said LA Tech VP and Director of Athletics Eric Wood. “Injuries have really affected the position and now a couple of COVID positives along with contact tracings to the same group have made this decision for us.
“I know both fan bases are disappointed, but we look forward to returning to the field next Saturday in Shreveport to play ULM. It will be the first time in 20 years that the two programs have met in football and we hope our fans will come out to support our student-athletes and coaches.”
Louisiana Tech and Rice will work with Conference USA to explore options to reschedule the game. The Bulldogs are next scheduled to play the ULM Warhawks at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, La., on Saturday, Nov. 21.
“I’m proud of how our team has kept themselves ready to compete, but as we continue to see, this is the reality of playing college football in a pandemic,” Rice Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard said. “I know it’s frustrating for our student-athletes and coaches as well as for our fans, and I share your frustration. All we can do is prepare to play each week and hope that both teams are healthy enough to tee it up.”
Rice has only played two games so far this season due to the pandemic. The Owls’ next scheduled contest is on the road against the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday, Nov. 21.
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