EL PASO, TEXAS – UTEP’s football game versus FIU, scheduled for this Saturday in the Sun Bowl, has been canceled, FIU officials announced on Tuesday afternoon. It is the third straight Miners home game that has been canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.
In a press release, FIU officials said that, “In an abundance of caution, due to the number of healthy scholarship football student-athletes available for this game, and to ensure a sufficient number moving forward, we regret to announce that we will not be playing the football game this weekend.”
The Panthers game vs. Marshall last week was postponed due to COVID-19. Due to the verbiage used by FIU brass, it appears the game with the Miners might not be made up.
“We knew entering into this most uncertain season that there was a possibility of some games being postponed or cancelled,” UTEP Director of Athletics Jim Senter said. “We’ve gone through a rough stretch, but are hopeful that we’ll come out of it strong and be able to get some games in over the next month. I continue to applaud our coaches, student-athletes and staff, including our Sports Medicine department, for doing everything they can to put our team in a position to play each and every week.”
The game is the Miners’ second in a row and third in four weeks that that has been either canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. UTEP’s Oct. 17 game against Southern Miss and Oct. 31 game vs. North Texas were postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date.
The Southern Miss game was postponed for a similar reason as the FIU game: cases of COVID-19 cases within the Golden Eagles program. The North Texas game was postponed after UNT officials expressed discomfort in travelling to El Paso with the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the Sun City.
“We are disappointed that we won’t be able to play this weekend, but we will continue working hard and look forward to our next game versus UTSA,” UTEP head coach Dana Dimel said.
All season ticket holders and single-game ticket holders will be contacted within the coming days regarding refund options.
The Miners will return to action a week from Saturday (Nov. 14) at UTSA. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Mountain Time, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.