Spartans forced to play next game at Hawaii
SAN JOSE >> The San Jose State football team that is enjoying its best start since 1955 finally has a place to play.
The Spartans (4- 0) are headed 2,400 miles across the Pacific to face Hawaii on Saturday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, the Mountain West Conference announced. The game originally was scheduled for CEFEU Stadium in San Jose.
Kickoff time has not been announced, according to a statement released Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast by Spectrum Sports.
A San Jose State athletics official said he did not have details on when the Spartans would leave for the Islands and where they plan to practice ahead of the game.
“We ex plored many venue and date options for this game over the last 48 hours,” athletic director Marie Tuite said in a statement. “Moving the game from San Jose to Honolulu
became the best option based on our county and the state’s current public health directives.”
SJSU had to relocate because of Santa Clara County’s new COVID-19 restrictions that include a three-week ban on all professional, collegiate and high school sports, a mandatory quarantine for those traveling into the region from more than 150 miles away and new capacity limits for indoor businesses.
While the announcement Tuesday answered one question, many other remains for the football team. After playing in Hawaii the team will need to figure out where to practice and then play its regularseason finale Dec. 11 against Nevada (5-1).
Like the Hawaii game, that contest must be played outside Santa Clara County.
The Spartans also cannot play host to the Mountain West Championship on Dec. 19 should they reach the finale.
With all of California bracing for tighter restrictions in the face of surging case rates and hospitalization rates for the novel coronavirus, it could be difficult for SJSU to decamp somewhere in the state. Once the Spartans leave campus they will not be able to return to Santa Clara County without undergoing a 14- day quarantine.
San Jose, which did not practice on Monday, has a tough opponent in Hawaii (3-3). Coach Brent Brennan said Hawaii presents “an incredible challenge while we figure out where we are going to practice, where we are going to play. So there is no shortage of challenges for us to face and overcome.”
SJSU has faced one coronavirus-related obstacle after another. It had its two most recent games canceled
because of COVID-19 issues, including one Saturday at Boise State. The Spartans did not learn about the cancellation until after arriving in Idaho. The team also did not play Fresno State the previous week because the Bulldogs had to cancel.
Brennan said he didn’t want the Spartans singled out because many people in America have faced similarly complicated situations.
Before the season began Oct. 24, the Spartans relocated 320 miles to Humboldt State because county health officials would not permit contact drills on campus. The team trained for 10 days in Arcata.
Brennan said he hopes the Humboldt experience will make it easier for his players to adjust to the latest move.
SJSU officials also are searching for homes for their men’s and women’s basketball teams. Both teams have had upcoming games canceled.
MOUNTAIN WEST TITLE GAME QUALI F ICAT ION >> While San Jose State’s future is up in the air, it appears the 4- 0 Spartans won’t have to worry about whether their canceled games will stop them from qualifying for the Mountain West championship game.
To qualify for the conference championship game, “teams must play no less than two fewer Conference games than the average number of Conference games played by all Conference teams (rounded up/ down at .50),” according to the Mountain West rules adopted for this pandemicshortened season.
There are currently 11 conference games scheduled for the remainder of the season. If those games are played, Mountain West teams would play an average of six conference games, meaning Mountain West teams would need to play at least four games to qualify for the conference championship.