Hawaii’s most lucrative and highest profile football game in jeopardy
BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM
University of Hawaii football coach Todd Graham introduced himself to the media in January.
What looms as the University of Hawaii football team’s highest profile and most lucrative game of the 2020 season could be in jeopardy of being canceled or played before an empty stadium according to state officials in Oregon.
UH is to play the University of Oregon Sept. 19 in Eugene, a game for which the Rainbow Warriors are contracted to receive $1 million for playing the Ducks, who are a projected top-10 team for 2020.
The week before the UH game the Ducks are scheduled to host Ohio State.
“There is some difficult news to share,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown said Thursday during a press conference to announce the first phase of the state’s partial reopening amid COVID-19. “Large gatherings, including live sporting events with audiences, concerts, festivals and conventions will not be able to return until we have a reliable treatment or prevention, like a vaccine.”
She said, “The Oregon Health Authority is advising that any large gathering, at least through September, should either be canceled or significantly modified. I know this is really, really hard. I will miss visiting our fairs and festivals this year.”
She said, “I wanted to give Oregonians a sense of what the future holds in terms of large gatherings. At this point in time, it is a recommendation. We haven’t made that formal decision yet.”
In a statement, Oregon athletics did not address the UH game but said, “We will continue to work with state and local officials, public health experts, and campus leadership in navigating all of the unprecedented issues surrounding COVID-19 and when our student-athletes will be able to return to competition. The health and safety of our student-athletes and community will continue to be our top priority.”
Oregon’s state health officer and epidemiologist, Dr. Dean Sidelinger, told the media, “So I think as we approach football season, we can see how the disease is behaving in our community, what kind of steps could be taken around the team themselves and the coaches and others around the team to see if they can safely start. But as you heard from the governor’s remarks, large gatherings will likely not be happening through the end of September. So if — or when — those activities resume, they would likely resume without the fans in the stands, but hopefully the fans watching them from a screen in the safety of their own home.”
