No more than just a few days after it excited fans with the news that a limited number would be allowed to attend the season-opener, Iowa State has reversed course on its decision. In a press release on Wednesday afternoon, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard announced that the team will now no longer allow fans to attend the Cyclones’ September 12 opener against Louisiana because of COVID-19 concerns.
At the time of the initial approval of fans for the game, Pollard cited that the reason for allowing fans was because the school believed fans would be, “willing to adhere to our mitigation measures.” But according to the report, the situation changed over the weekend.
“Our department staff and I have worked very closely with Dr. Wintersteen and her leadership team throughout the summer as we jointly developed plans for this fall's football season,” Pollard said in the statement. “Over the weekend, Dr. Wintersteen gave our working group the approval to move forward with the plans that were jointly developed. Our department announced those plans on Monday, which included allowing fans, who purchased season tickets, to attend the first game.
“President Wintersteen shared with me on Tuesday evening that, after weighing feedback she has received from the community, she has decided to reverse the decision. As a result, we will play the season opener without fans.”
Iowa State is not the only Big 12 school to make the decision that no fans will be allowed to attend the season-opener. Just two days ago, the University of Kansas announced its decision that no fans would be allowed to attend its season-opener against Coastal Carolina.
While no Cyclone fans will be allowed to attend the first game of the season, Pollard did go on later in his statement to say that the school was hopeful fans could attend games later in the season, depending on how the situation developed over time. After the first game of the season, Iowa State will play five home games in Big 12 play, starting on October 3 against Oklahoma.
“Our department has always taken great pride in working hand-in-hand with the university and this situation is no different,” Pollard said in the statement. “We are in this together and will do everything we can to support Dr. Wintersteen and her leadership team in their efforts to lead our institution during very challenging times.
“Although it is disappointing there won't be fans at the opener, our institution's leadership team is still committed to having spectators at future games, if it can done safely. Weighing how our campus community responds to the recent surge in positive COVID cases will be a significant factor as to whether we can have fans at future games. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make a decision regarding fans for the Oklahoma game (Oct. 3) at a later date."
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September 03, 2020 at 01:19AM
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Iowa State will not allow fans for first game of 2020 - 247Sports
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