The University of North Carolina at Charlotte football team didn’t have enough offensive linemen to play this weekend.
The athletic department announced Thursday that it has canceled its game at the University of North Carolina due to COVID-19 guidelines.
"We're extremely disappointed to have to cancel our game at North Carolina. While I know our team is heartbroken, due to the number of players in quarantine, we could not safely play," Charlotte athletic director Mike Hill said. "We very much appreciate the University of North Carolina working with us to schedule this game."
Three Charlotte football players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two weeks. They went into isolation, while contact tracing required several more individuals to quarantine for 14 days.
“Several members of the offensive line were placed into quarantine following the University’s COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, effectively depleting that unit,” Charlotte’s release reads, noting that the game’s canceled without mentioning rescheduling it.
Charlotte said that 3,150 tests were administered for student-athletes, coaches and staff members between June 10 and Sept. 14. There have been 20 positive cases, including one of the 200 tests that were administered Monday.
Charlotte, which started the season with a 35-20 loss at Appalachian State, is now scheduled to open its home schedule Sept. 26 against Georgia State. UNC, which is coming off a 31-6 win over Syracuse, is off until an Oct. 3 game at Boston College.
"We're disappointed we won't have a chance to play this weekend, but completely understand and appreciate Charlotte's transparency," North Carolina coach Mack Brown said in a statement, according to ESPN. "We were looking forward to competing against Coach [Will] Healy's group. As you know, we're good friends so I hate this for him and his team. Hopefully, everyone affected is okay and we wish them the best as they move through the season."
