BOISE, Idaho — For the third time in the past week, issues related to COVID-19 will keep the Boise State men's basketball team off the court Friday, when the Broncos were scheduled to play Colorado State.
Wednesday, the Mountain West postponed the matchup between the Broncos and the 20th-ranked CSU Rams (11-0 overall, 1-0 MW), which was scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday in ExtraMile Arena.
The Mountain West has announced that CSU will instead host San Diego State on Saturday because of COVID-19 issues with Boise State and Nevada, who was scheduled to play SDSU Saturday.
A new date for CSU at Boise State has not been announced. If it cannot be rescheduled, the Mountain West says the game will be declared a no contest.
Boise State women's basketball also had its game at Nevada scheduled for Thursday postponed by the Mountain West conference Wednesday due to COVID-19 issues within Nevada's program.
A new date for Boise State (4-9, 0-2) at Nevada (11-4, 3-0) has not been announced. If it cannot be rescheduled, the Mountain West says the game will be declared a no contest.
The Bronco women are scheduled to host Utah State at 2 p.m. on Sunday at ExtraMile Arena.
In Caldwell, the College of Idaho announced Thursday that its doubleheader for its men's and women's basketball teams on Saturday against Warner Pacific University at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center has also been canceled.
Unlike the Boise State cancellations, both C of I squads will earn forfeit victories for Saturday's scheduled contests because the COVID-19 issues are within the WPU programs.
According to a press release from C of I Athletics, the Cascade Conference rules; "If at any time a school elects not to participate in a contest that has not been required to cease based on a Federal, State or County mandate, it will be considered a forfeit for record and standings purposes."
The Yote women (11-6, 5-4) also earned a forfeit victory Jan. 5 due to COVID-19 protocols within the Multnomah University basketball program. The Yote men (13-3, 7-1) are scheduled to face off with Multnomah Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Caldwell.
Last Saturday, Jan. 1, the Boise State men were forced to pull out of a game at Wyoming about 30 minutes before tipoff. Boise State also postponed a game scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 4, at Utah State as the Broncos dealt with COVID protocols.
The Boise State men last played a game on Dec. 28, when the Broncos defeated Fresno State, 65-55. Boise State is 10-4 overall, and 1-0 in Mountain West conference play.
Boise State athletics director Jeramiah Dickey tweeted on Wednesday that some Bronco players were starting to show COVID-19 symptoms on Saturday, and that positive test results set protocols in motion. Those who tested positive were isolated and separate travel arrangements back to Boise were arranged for them.
Dickey also wrote that the earliest the minimum number of student-athletes and coaches would be eligible to return to competition is Sunday, Jan. 9. As of Thursday, Boise State's next scheduled game is Wednesday, Jan. 12, at Nevada.
The NCAA on Thursday morning released updated COVID-19 guidance for winter sports, which provides a path for players to potentially return to the court sooner than what's recommended under the previous guidelines. The updated guidelines suggest five days of quarantine after a positive test, with isolation ending after those five days if there are no symptoms or the symptoms are resolving. Considerations include masking around others for five additional days. Student-athletes may participate in athletic activities without a mask after five days of isolation and a negative test result.
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