While COVID-19 is already affecting college football season in Oklahoma, fans shouldn’t expect to know details.
TU and OSU postponed their season opener a week, moving it from Saturday to Sept. 19. Head coach Philip Montgomery said the Golden Hurricane needs another week of preparation after getting in just seven practices during a 17-day preseason camp because of multiple positive tests.
But he wouldn’t say during a Tuesday news conference how many cases the team is currently dealing with.
"I don’t know that I’m going to get into the numbers parts of it. Obviously, we’ve got positive cases, they’ve got positive cases. Again, just like I think everybody across the country does," Montgomery said.
Montgomery said the testing regimen in place was sufficient but did not specify numbers.
"About every other day here, we’re getting tested. So, it’s — you know, we’re staying in those numbers and doing what we gotta do to make sure our guys are safe," Montgomery said.
OSU head coach Mike Gundy held a news conference before the postponement was announced Monday night. He said a few of his players have opted out of the season, but he cannot name them.
"If those players wanted people to know that they were opting out, I’m sure that they would have done like most young people do and put it on social media so everybody could know," Gundy said.
Also on Tuesday, OU head coach Lincoln Riley said the Sooners will not be releasing case numbers going forward.
"Just like, you know, we would with an injury, we’re not gonna — you know, we’re just — we made the decision to not broadcast that. I know we’d been probably the most transparent school in the country up until then, but you don’t want to give your team a competitive disadvantage. So, we’re not going to do that," Riley said.
TU is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which postponed fall sports other than football.
Note: KWGS is licensed to TU.
