University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez announced the Wisconsin football team’s COVID-19 case count has risen to 22 staff and players as of Saturday morning.
During an interview between Alvarez and ESPN commentator Rece Davis on “College Gameday” on Saturday morning, Alvarez said the previous case count of 16 from Wednesday has risen to 22 in the last few days.
“I just got a report this morning and today we are at 10 staff, 12 players for a total of 22,” Alvarez said. “We’re still having additions in our cases and that’s something we’ve got to get our arms around and control.”
COVID-19 has taken the college football world by storm in recent weeks as several teams have players and coaches who either underwent a quarantine period or are currently in quarantine, including potential No. 1 NFL Draft pick Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Alvarez also said the Badgers will reevaluate the possibility of canceling their next game against Purdue on Nov. 7.
“We’ll take a look at where we are, where our positive testing is and make a decision on Tuesday,” Alvarez said.
Football: Badgers forced to cancel game against Nebraska amid team COVID-19 outbreak
Big Ten protocols call for players to sit out for 21 days following a positive coronavirus test, meaning all 12 players who have tested positive would miss at least the Purdue game, and many — if not all — would miss the Nov. 14 game against No. 13 Michigan.
While many have called for a change to the 21-day quarantine period, Alvarez said he’ll trust whatever the scientists say is best.
“I think several athletic directors have looked at that number and thought it was a little high,” Alvarez said. “But none of us are doctors, that’s not our decision to make, that’s for our medical professionals to make. But I’m sure we’ll take a look at it.”
The Badgers were forced to cancel their game against Nebraska scheduled for Saturday following a COVID-19 outbreak within the team, including quarterbacks Graham Mertz and Chase Wolf as well as Head Coach Paul Chryst.
Stay tuned for an announcement from Alvarez and the Badgers on Tuesday.
