Several meetings on Sunday did not produce any immediate decision on the status of this coming Saturday’s scheduled football game between Hawaii and San Jose State.
The game at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., is in jeopardy because of new coronavirus-based quarantine rules that will be imposed for Santa Clara County beginning today. Health officials are prohibiting contact-sport activities in practices and games for the next three weeks in the Bay Area county. The order also calls for incoming travelers from at least 150 miles outside the county to quarantine for 14 days.
San Jose State, Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers are among the high-profile teams that will be impacted. The county implemented the restrictions in response to the area’s upward-trending COVID-19 count.
There have been preliminary discussions among San Jose State, UH and Mountain West officials on where — or if — the UH-San Jose State game will be on Saturday. SJSU officials also met with Santa Clara County health officials on Sunday. SJSU officials shared more than four months of the athletic program’s COVID-19 protocols and test results. The New York Times had reported that SJSU’s 22 sports programs had only seven positive test results— each asymptomatic — since late July.
“We are in a fluid situation with our football and basketball teams since their seasons are in progress,” SJSU athletic director Marie Tuite wrote in a statement distributed to the media. “We will make decisions on team practices and when and where our contests are being played in conjunction with university administration and the Mountain West.”
UH is a football-only member of the Mountain West. UH’s basketball teams compete in the Big West.
At 4-0, San Jose State is in contention for the Mountain West football title. The teams with the top two winning percentages in league play will compete in the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 19.
The pandemic has affected the Spartans’ football schedule. The opener against New Mexico was moved to CEFCU because of the coronavirus spike in Bernalillo County, where the Lobos’ campus is located.
The COVID-19 situation led to the cancellation of the past two San Jose State games. Fresno State was unable to participate in the Nov. 21 game because of contact tracing within the Bulldogs’ program. Hours before this past Saturday’s kick-off, Boise State was forced to cancel because of the pandemic.
The Warriors had planned to depart on Wednesday afternoon on a non-stop flight to San Jose.