Tennessee was forced to pull out of next week’s Liberty Bowl after coach Jeremy Pruitt and several players tested positive for COVID-19, the university announced Monday.
The Volunteers (3-7) were slated to play West Virginia (5-4) on Dec. 31 in the bowl game at Memphis. Army (9-2) was named as Tennessee’s replacement in the Liberty Bowl after the Knights were knocked out of the Independence Bowl when that game was canceled.
Tennessee’s COVID-19 tests were conducted Sunday with the positive results coming back after the Volunteers had accepted the bowl invitation. Tennessee then re-tested the positives and did a whole new round of testing, per an ESPN report. The positive results and contact tracing rendered the Volunteers with too few players and coaches to compete.
“Earlier today, I was informed by our medical staff that I have tested positive for COVID-19, and I immediately began isolating at home,” Pruitt said in a statement. “I am experiencing mild symptoms but doing fine. We are obviously disappointed that we will not be able to play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, but the health and safety of our student-athletes will always remain our top priority. I am especially proud of our team and medical staff in safely navigating through a unique season where we played all 10 of our regular-season games.”
The Vols finished their regular season last week against Texas A&M without assistant coaches Jay Graham and Derrick Ansley reportedly because of COVID-19 issues.
In a statement, the Volunteers athletic department expressed disappointment in having to decline the bowl bid.
“After receiving Sunday’s COVID-19 test results, the University of Tennessee football program has paused all team activities and will be unable to compete in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl,” the Tennessee statement read. “The test results revealed an increase in positive cases among student-athletes and staff and subsequent contact tracing. The decision was made in consultation with health officials, the Southeastern Conference and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.”
Army accepted a bit to the Independence Bowl, but that game was taken off the schedule Sunday after a number of college football programs elected to take a pass on bowl bids.
Army will try to achieve its third season of double-digit victories since 2017. The Knights had 10 victories in 2017 and 11 in 2018, winning the Armed Forces Bowl in both seasons. It is the fourth time in seven seasons head coach Jeff Monken has taken the team to a bowl game.
“If we got a Dec. 31 bowl game, if you call us on the 29th, we’ll have those guys flying there on the 30th,” Monken said to ESPN on Sunday. “What I’m hoping is some of these bowl games, when they hear enough of this about Army, they’re going to say, ‘You know what? If somebody cancels, we’re going to take Army.’ … They’ll be the hero.”
