As Friday rolled along, the ultimate conclusion became apparent.
Ohio State felt it could no longer guarantee everybody’s health for the football team’s upcoming game at Illinois the next day, so those in power in the athletic department moved to cancel it. The decision was made on Friday evening, and the football program was put on pause indefinitely.
“We made a decision last night to pause because our positivity rate reached a concerning level,” athletic director Gene Smith said. “We did not reach the Big Ten protocol thresholds, but the positivity rate was concerning enough where we felt we needed to pause and try and find a way to mitigate its spread and continue to ensure the safety of our student-athletes.