Iowa State Reverses Plan To Let 25,000 Fans In Stadium For Football Game!

Iowa State Football Schedule 2020

Dear Commons Community,

Iowa State University said Wednesday it will change its controversial decision to allow 25,000 fans to attend an upcoming football game. The game will now be played in an empty stadium.

The school had drawn widespread criticism when it said it would allow thousands of people into the stadium for the season opener ― set to be played Sept. 12 against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette ― amid the ongoing pandemic.

Athletic director Jamie Pollard announced the reversal in a statement.

“President [Wendy] Wintersteen shared with me on Tuesday evening that, after weighing feedback she has received from the community, she has decided to reverse the decision,” Pollard said. “As a result, we will play the season opener without fans.”

At a press conference shortly before Iowa State announced its reversal, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) defended the school’s decision to allow fans at the Sept. 12 game, urging those who felt unsafe not to go.

“If you have underlying conditions and you’re part of a vulnerable population, maybe I wouldn’t go to the Iowa State football game next week,” Reynolds said Wednesday.

The state has seen a recent spike in cases as college classes have started. The White House coronavirus task force warned of the dire increase in an Aug. 30 report.

“Iowa is in the red zone for cases, indicating more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week, with the highest rate in the country,” the report said. “Iowa is in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate above 10%, with the 5th highest rate in the country, an increase in both cases and test positivity over the last week.”

President Wintersteen made the absolute right decision!

Tony

 

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