Washington-Oregon football game canceled due to COVID-19

Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Saturday's game between the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks has been called off because of COVID-19 issues within Washington's football program, the Pac-12 announced Thursday.

Washington fell below the requirement of 53 scholarship players available to play because of positive COVID-19 cases and related contact tracing protocols. The conference said the game will be declared a no-contest, meaning the Huskies (3-1) will finish at the top of the Pac-12 North standings.

"I'm so disappointed for everyone involved here. Every year our student-athletes, coaches, staff and Husky Nation circle this game on our calendar and so look forward to this amazing rivalry," Washington athletic director Jennifer Cohen said in a statement Thursday.

"The student-athletes from both schools have worked so hard, and I'm just really disheartened we are at this point where we are unable to play due to our COVID-19 positives within the program, but we will always put the health and well-being of our students, coaches and staff as our greatest priority when making decisions."

Washington halted all team-related activities Wednesday and hasn't practiced in the last two days. It remains unclear whether the Huskies will have enough available players to play in next week's Pac-12 Championship Game.

If Oregon (3-2) managed to beat the Huskies in the matchup, the Ducks would have won the division and advanced to the Pac-12 title game to play either USC or Colorado.

Earlier Thursday, the Big 12 Conference experienced multiple cancellations and had a program close its football facilities because of the coronavirus.

The Oklahoma-West Virginia and Texas-Kansas games scheduled for Saturday were canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Mountaineers and Longhorns football programs. The games won't be rescheduled and will be declared no-contests.

The Sooners will play Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game on Dec. 19 in Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma already secured its spot in the title game, and Iowa State is off this week.

Meanwhile, Baylor announced Thursday it was temporarily closing its football facilities because of the coronavirus. Despite the closure, the school said it still hopes to play its regular-season finale against Oklahoma State on Saturday.

"At this time and in the interest of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, we have temporarily closed our football facility and are taking all possible precautions," Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades said in a statement. "Our focus remains on playing the scheduled game with Oklahoma State at McLane Stadium on December 12."

Baylor didn't provide a specific reason as to what caused the shutdown. The Bears have had three games canceled or postponed this season due to COVID-19 complications.