Apple Cup canceled over COVID-19 issues

The Apple Cup, the rivalry between the University of Washington and Washington State University, will not be played due to COVID-19 complications affecting the Cougars’ football team, the Pac-12 Conference announced.

The Apple Cup has been played every year since 1944.

The Pac-12 sent out a statement regarding the game, which was supposed to be played the day after Thanksgiving in Pullman.

Read the statement the Pac-12 Conference sent out in a tweet:

Jennifer Cohen, UW’s director of athletics, said Sunday:

“This is so disappointing for our players, coaches and staff, as well as Husky Nation as we were all looking forward to the Boeing Apple Cup this week. This is one of the best rivalries in college sports and every year we circle this game at the start of the season. We will work with Pac-12 to prioritize this game and look into any opportunities to play it should there be an open date for both schools down the road. We also understand that the Pac-12, in conjunction with local and state officials, developed policies that placed the health and safety of students, coaches and staff as the top priority. We want to provide an opportunity for our football program to compete this weekend and are working to find another opponent.”

Pat Chun, Washington State University’s director of athletics, sent out a statement saying:

“After assessing the overall status of our football program, we remain under the minimum threshold of 53 available scholarship student-athletes and cannot forecast a scenario that allows us to reach that threshold by the end of the week. Earlier today I communicated with President Schulz, Commissioner Scott and Washington Director of Athletics Jen Cohen our current situation. While this is another heartbreaking week for our football program, the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches and staff remains our top priority. The Boeing Apple Cup is one of the most sacred rivalries in all of sports and one of the most meaningful days of the year for all Washingtonians. It’s gut-wrenching and disappointing for our student-athletes and coaches as well as those at UW. As we work through the remainder of our schedule, we will continue to communicate with the Pac-12 Conference and UW if any scenario would emerge that would allow us to reschedule the game at a later point in the season.”

Last week, the Pac-12 also canceled a game between Washington State and Stanford because the Cougars did not have the minimum number of scholarship players.

A number of athletes had tested positive for COVID-19 which then resulted in several players being quarantined.

Cox Media Group