Mizzou won't play in Music City Bowl after COVID-19 uptick

After a rise in coronavirus cases within the Missouri football program, the Tigers won't play in Wednesday's TransPerfect Music City Bowl, the school announced Sunday.

The uptick in COVID-19 cases appeared after the latest round of tri-weekly testing. Players had returned to Columbia after having the option to go home to spend the Christmas holiday with family before preparing to face Iowa.

One source told the Tribune the Tigers have "more than a dozen" cases of COVID-19. Missouri's current coronavirus issues are believed to have originated during the team's road trip to Mississippi State on Dec. 19, not the holiday recess.

The Tigers have paused all team activities through Jan. 2, leading to the cancellation.

"I am disappointed that we were not able to finish the season against a tremendous opponent in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl later this week," Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz said in a statement Sunday. "I am extremely proud of the fight and resiliency that our players have shown throughout this challenging season.

"This is the eighth time in 11 games we've been faced with a schedule adjustment, but we've been able to fight through and finish while competing at a very high level throughout the season, which I believe shows the true character of our team.

"We look forward to returning to Nashville to play in a future TransPerfect Music City Bowl and experiencing all that this great bowl game offers."

Missouri already had a thin roster due to opt-outs, injuries, transfers and players leaving for the NFL Draft.

The Tigers' remaining roster wouldn't have been enough for their postseason game.

Drinkwitz said during a Zoom call with media Sunday afternoon that Missouri had a positive case within the program prior to its trip to Starkville. Subsequent contact tracing revealed more positive tests, with those individuals remaining in Columbia this past week. Upon the team's convergence back in Columbia this weekend among previously tested negative players, several more positives emerged.

"We felt like it was in the best interest of our players' mental health to travel home, which we had done on the bye week. So we didn't feel like it was an extreme risk," Drinkwitz said. "But then when we came back, we had several positives in the first test. And then we had several more positives in the next test. And at that point, it became the local county health officials' and team doctors' decision that we needed to pause for seven days to try to prevent the spread and prevent any more outbreak.

"And for us to try to travel to Nashville would put the public health at risk."

The current wave of positive COVID-19 tests includes coaches and support staff as well.

Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk said there has been "a significant increase" in positive cases within the program over four rounds of testing in the past eight days.

"We unfortunately must pause all football team-related activities until at least Jan. 2 to help contain the virus’ spread and ensure the health and well-being of everyone within our program and the community," Sterk said. “... This eight-day uptick within our program is significant and has made it impossible for us to play in the bowl game, which I know comes as a disappointment to our student-athletes, coaches and fans, who were excited about the opportunity to play a great Iowa team in Nashville."

The bowl game would've taken place at Nashville's Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans. 

The Titans' schedule didn't allow for the game to be rescheduled for a later date. With Missouri unavailable Wednesday, Sterk said the only decision was to cancel.

Iowa paused all football activities last week due to a rise in COVID-19 numbers within the Hawkeyes' program, but returned to practice on Saturday.

Iowa (6-2) will not seek an alternate opponent or makeup game, the Des Moines Register reported.

Missouri finishes the season 5-5.

"Our football student-athletes, the coaches and intercollegiate athletics staff have done an outstanding job representing the University of Missouri on and off the field this year," UM System President Mun Choi said in a statement. "All of us have been proud of them and what they have accomplished this season. This is, of course, disappointing news, but we look forward to cheering on the team taking the field next fall and representing the University of Missouri with true Tiger spirit."

The cancellation means Drinkwitz, in his first season leading Missouri, won't have the opportunity for postseason incentives. 

The 37-year-old could've earned a one-year extension and $100,000 raise by defeating the Hawkeyes, according to his contract. Those bonuses occur if MU wins a bowl game or eight contests in either of his first two seasons.

“I want to thank the hard work of those involved in helping plan this year’s bowl, which we were prepared to host this week,” Scott Ramsey, president & CEO of the TransPerfect Music City Bowl, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, Missouri’s high positive COVID-19 numbers have resulted in the cancellation of this game. We look forward to planning for 2021.”

eblum@columbiatribune.com

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