Penn State football suspends practices, Pro Day — but Blue-White Game still on, for now
(UPDATE: Penn State announced Thursday evening that the Blue-White Game was canceled. For more information, click here.)
Penn State is suspending all football-related activities — such as practice, recruiting and Pro Day — until “further notice” due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, but a final decision has not yet been made on the Blue-White Game.
The athletic department issued a news release Thursday afternoon, shortly after the NHL suspended its season and MLB canceled spring training. The NBA said Wednesday it would also suspend its season.
“We are assessing this rapidly evolving situation with the health and welfare of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and community as the priority,” the statement from Penn State Athletics read. “We will continue to seek guidance from University leadership, health experts and local authorities in making decisions.”
Penn State’s Pro Day, where NFL scouts are invited, was set to take place Tuesday. And spring practice was expected to start up Wednesday. It is unknown when those might be rescheduled.
The athletic department’s announcement came a day after the university said it was suspending in-person classes through April 3. Online learning will be in place starting Monday, and in-person classes will resume April 6.
The Blue-White Game, the annual spring scrimmage, is still tentatively scheduled for April 18. Ohio State has already canceled its April 11 spring game.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 1,215 cases of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, in the U.S. Pennsylvania has had 20 presumptive cases, with two confirmed cases, as of Thursday afternoon, according to the state department of health.
As of Thursday afternoon, Pennsylvania has 13 COVID-19 cases in Montgomery County, two each in Bucks and Monroe counties, and one each in Delaware, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike and Wayne counties.
There are no confirmed cases in Centre County.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 3:17 PM.
