TCU postpones season opener against SMU after positive tests

By John Hamilton

Share or Save for Later

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Save to Favorites

TCU football will not play SMU on Sept. 11 as originally scheduled after players and support staff tested positive for COVID-19. 

The athletic department announced that the Horned Frogs and Mustangs will see whether it's possible to reschedule the game for later in the year. However, the two teams don't have overlapping weeks off for the rest of the season. 

"In the course of following CDC guidelines and our aggressive testing and contact tracing strategy, we discovered that some student-athletes and support staff in our football program have tested positive for COVID-19," TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said in a statement. "Those individuals were notified immediately and are currently abiding by CDC protocols. 

"No one is currently facing serious health issues and we intend to continue our enforcement of strict standards to protect the program and our community." 

The university has reported 546 positive student cases since returning to campus on Aug. 24. Out of those, 231 reported student cases are listed as active. It's unclear how many of those cases are within the athletic department, and whether the new round of cases is included in those numbers.

TCU is one of three Big 12 athletic departments that refused to provide ESPN with athletic department testing numbers. Others include Kansas State and Oklahoma State. Texas A&M also did not provide ESPN with a list of test results. 

This article is available to our Digital Subscribers.
Click "Subscribe Now" to see a list of subscription offers.
Already a Subscriber? Sign In to access this content.

Sign In
Don't Miss Any Exclusive Coverage!

We've been the Bible of Texas football fans for 64 years. By joining the DCTF family you'll gain access to all of our exclusive content and have our magazines mailed to you!