Citing a lack of practice time due to coronavirus-induced shutdowns, the University of Tulsa announced Monday that its season-opening football game, scheduled for Saturday at Oklahoma State, has been postponed for one week.
The teams are now due to play Sept. 19, but a new kickoff time and television information weren’t immediately released.
The Golden Hurricane athletic department stated on its website that the football team had managed only seven practices while enduring a nine-day hiatus due to multiple positive tests for COVID-19.
According to the Tulsa World, eight Tulsa players tested positive, and another eight were quarantined for being in direct contact with those eight.
Tulsa athletic director Derrick Gragg said in a statement, “The safety and health of our student-athletes is always at the core of all of our discussions and decisions. Without time to properly prepare physically, we would be putting our student-athletes at a greater risk of injury.
“An open date for both schools presented us with the opportunity to reschedule the game for a week later. I’m appreciative of (athletic director) Mike Holder and Oklahoma State University for their cooperation in coming to this decision.”
The Tulsa-Oklahoma State postponement follows three days after a similar move was made regarding the TCU-SMU game that had been scheduled for Friday. That game was called off in the wake of positive COVID-19 tests for Horned Frogs players and support staff, and it is unclear if the matchup will be rescheduled.
Each Big 12 school is playing just one nonconference game this season in addition to its league slate.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 have postponed their seasons indefinitely due to the pandemic. The Atlantic Coast Conference will have teams kicking off this week, and Southeastern Conference teams will start play Sept. 26.