Coronavirus cases and contact tracing have forced San Jose State’s football program to pause in-person activities ahead of its official spring practice period, the school’s athletic department announced Wednesday.
The reigning Mountain West Conference champions were set to begin their official NCAA-sanctioned spring practice period next week, leading up to the spring game scheduled for May. 1.
San Jose State has not said how many positive tests have been tied to the football program but a release from the school noted that players, coaches and staff have been tested three times per week since the start of the calendar year.
The Spartans had coronavirus-related issues surrounding their trip to the Arizona Bowl in late December, with at least 13 confirmed cases. A school memo said at least one person who tested positive for the virus visited the Simpkins Center on the day the team gathered there to travel to Tucson for the game, and several members of the team’s party stayed in Arizona to quarantine after the game.
At least six players and two coaches were listed as unavailable for the Arizona Bowl, which the Spartans lost to Ball State after an undefeated regular season and conference championship game victory over Boise State.
The football team isn’t the only Spartans athletic program that’s been affected by the virus: The baseball and basketball teams (both men’s and women’s) paused their seasons due to positive COVID cases and contact tracing.
The women’s basketball team eventually canceled the remainder of its season. After a month of postponements, the baseball team is scheduled to play its season opener Saturday against San Diego State.
Among the Spartans’ football stars set to return for their Mountain West title defense are rising senior defensive lineman Cade Hall, the conference’s 2020 defensive player of the year and one of those who missed the bowl game, and graduate transfer quarterback Nick Starkel, who directed SJSU’s top-20 passing offense last season, his first in San Jose.
Head coach Brent Brennan is returning for his fifth season in charge of the Spartans after being named the Lombardi Foundation national coach of the year and receiving a contract extension.