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The Mountain West announced today that it is canceling the fall sports season, which means no football for UNLV in 2020.
The Mountain West had already taken drastic action to finagle a season despite the COVID-19 pandemic, announcing last week that non-conference games would be cut from four to two games per team and that the start of the season would be pushed back to Sept. 26. But facing overwhelming logistical challenges, the league took the next logical step on Monday, putting a halt to the entire season.
According to a press release, the league will try to play football (and other fall sports) in the spring.
In a statement, UNLV athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois expressed her preference to keep the spring option alive.
“We look forward to working with our colleagues and exploring fall sport competitions occurring later in the academic year,” Reed-Francois said.
On Twitter, Reed-Francois posted that "our student-athletes have worked their entire lives for opportunities to compete at the highest levels. We are deeply saddened for how they feel with today’s announcement."
Football coach Marcus Arroyo on Twitter retweeted a post from UNLV long snapper Rex Goossen that read, “Hard to believe... our team and staff followed every protocol with diligence and caution. Being at the facility and around football provided us with a place safe and distant from the outside.”
The move to shut down seemed inevitable once the Power 5 conferences began discussing the reality of a year without football. Rumors emerged over the weekend that the Big Ten and Pac-12 were in favor of canceling the fall season, and those talks have since reportedly intensified.
The news is a particular blow to UNLV, which was set to move into brand-new Allegiant Stadium.
It will also have massive financial ramifications for UNLV. Last year, the university reported $2.9 million in revenue generated by the football program.
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said canceling the season became “necessary.”
“We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place,” Thompson said. “However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary.”
Reaction from UNLV players on social media took on an understandably exasperated tone.
Wide receiver Tyleek Collins responded to the Mountain West's official tweet with an emoji expression:
Linebacker Malakai Salu tweeted a gif of Aaron Rodgers tossing an electronic tablet in disgust; quarterback Kenyon Oblad retweeted Salu:
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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