Mountain West Football

Utah State football head coach Gary Andersen told reporters on a conference call last week that opting out of the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic is not an option for Aggies players.

"At least in our program, we don't have an opt-out. And it's not an option," Andersen said, per Julie Jag of the Salt Lake Tribune.

"If you opt out, you're not with us."

Per Jag, representatives from Utah State's athletics department told her that "Andersen did not feel comfortable responding to a request to clarify his comments." 

No Aggies players have opted out, but NCAA rules stipulate that they can do so, per Jag. The same goes for all NCAA athletes, who can sit out the entire season without losing their eligibility. They would also keep their scholarships, including textbooks, room and board.

On Friday, Andersen walked those previous comments back during an interview with 1280 The Zone in Salt Lake City (h/t Ben Kercheval of CBS Sports):

"I used the word 'policy'—we don't have a policy. That was the wrong word. We have an opt-out form. We have discussed this with the team many, many times. The word 'policy' in my mind...I was basically saying we have no one in that situation in our football team right now that has opted out. So our policy...doesn't exist right now, we're not using it. I should have, obviously, clarified that much cleaner and said that we have nobody who has opted out, or is opting out, in our football program."

He also added, per Kercheval: "Our kids, if they did decide to opt out, we are in support of that." 

Utah State, a member of the Mountain West Conference, will play an eight-game intraleague schedule starting Saturday, Oct. 24, at Boise State. The Mountain West Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 19.

The MWC initially postponed all fall sports indefinitely amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Aug. 10. Other conferences, like the Big Ten and Pac-12, opted to do the same.

However, as other leagues reversed course, so did the Mountain West Conference, which announced a plan for a shortened season in late September.

The Mountain West became the latest FBS conference to reverse course and announce a truncated football season. The league made the decision official in a tweet Thursday evening: 

Teams will compete in an eight-game schedule with play beginning October 24, pending approval from state, local and county officials. 

The Mountain West Championship Game is now scheduled for December 19. 

Earlier on Thursday, the Pac-12 announced it was resuming fall sports with college football beginning a seven-game schedule November 6.

A full announcement on the return of football is expected Friday morning. 

On August 10, the conference said it was indefinitely postponing all fall sports and championships events "in response to ongoing challenges with the effective mitigation and management of the COVID-19 virus in conjunction with athletic competition."

At the time, the league said it would explore the "feasibility" of rescheduling fall sports with a spring season as a possibility. 

"Numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary," MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said in August. "I fully understand the impact of this outcome on our student- athletes, coaches, administrators and staff who work so hard daily to play the sports we all love, and I share in their disappointment. We will continue to navigate this pandemic together, overcome the obstacles and return to intercollegiate athletics at the earliest opportunity.”

That opportunity presented itself much sooner than originally anticipated. 

Just how many programs will be able to field full football teams remains to be seen. 

According to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, all 12 Mountain West schools are going to try playing, but some schools "still have work to do" to get to that point, including receiving approval from local officials.

With its 70,000-seat stadium being destroyed earlier than planned to speed up construction on a new venue, the San Diego State football team will play home games during the upcoming spring and fall seasons at the home of Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy. 

The Aztecs will play at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, about 110 miles north of their current home. Ground broke on a new $310 million stadium last month, with the facility being part of a campus expansion project and scheduled to open in the fall of 2022. 

SDCCU Stadium, which was previously known as Qualcomm Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium, was the home to the San Diego Chargers before the franchise relocated to Los Angeles, where Dignity Health Sports Park was also its home.

No stadium was available in San Diego to host the team, athletic director John David Wicker said, per USA Today: 

“We are San Diego State University. We are going to be here forever. We're excited that we are building a football stadium in San Diego. ... We are part of this community. We're just going to run up the road for a little bit to play football and then we're going to come back and we're going to open a phenomenal stadium and continue developing a campus that is great for San Diego."

SDCCU Stadium opened in 1967 and has hosted three Super Bowls and two World Series; the San Diego Padres played at the facility until 2004. 

The Aztecs had planned to play two more seasons at the stadium before the Mountain West Conference postponed the fall football season to spring because of COVID-19. With the pandemic ongoing, the decision was made to move up demolition of the stadium to early 2021.

Wicker said concrete from the demolition of SDCCU Stadium will be used as a base for the new Aztec Stadium, which will seat 35,000. 

In 2019, San Diego State went 10-3 and ended the season with a 48-11 defeat of Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl. 

Colorado State offensive lineman Barry Wesley says he pleaded for his life as he was held at gunpoint in June by a rogue vigilante while working a summer job.

Wesley told Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated in an interview released Thursday he complied with the orders of Scott Gudmundsen, who's been treated at a mental health facility and remains held in custody on $50,000 bond after being arrested following the incident.

"Please don't kill me," Wesley told Gudmundsen. "Please don't kill me."

Gudmundsen replied: "You're lucky. I'm not going to kill you. The police are going to do that for me."

Wesley, who's Black, said he'd encountered Gudmundsen with work colleague Kyle Farrell a day earlier on his first day on the job at a roofing company. He said the only thing that stood out about the encounter was the gun holstered by Gudmundsen, a 65-year-old white man.

"It was weird, but not really concerning," he said. "We talked about [Gudmundsen] on the way back to Fort Collins, about George Floyd and the climate of our country and how sensitive it is right now. I just figured: This guy's been watching the wrong type of news channel or something."

Following the incident, Loveland Police Lt. Bob Shaffer told Kevin Vaughan of 9News they received a call from Gudmundsen identifying Wesley and Farrell as members of antifa, a loose term for an anti-fascist political movement often targeted by conservatives, including President Donald Trump.

Stanley Gudmundsen, the man's son, issued a statement of apology for his father's actions to the network.

"Our sincerest thoughts go out to the two salesmen and we apologize to them and their families for the actions of our father and wish them well," he wrote.

Wesley, a redshirt junior for the Rams, told Prewitt he blames the polarized nature of political television networks for laying the groundwork for Gudmundsen's actions.

"I think he was watching the news, and the news was showing him what he wanted to see—and that led to his actions," he said. "I think he was scared and frightened and he needed to do [what he thought was] the right thing. He took advantage of his knowledge of how to use a firearm to take someone's right to humanity."

Wesley noted he still deals with triggers related to the incident, telling his therapist, "I'm not the same person I used to be," per Prewitt.

"He definitely defeated my sense of peace and stability," he said.

Wesley lamented the lack of football because of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it provided "structure and stability" when he needed it most, but said he's considering another job to remain occupied.

A group of Colorado State football players released an open letter expressing support for head coach Steve Addazio and his staff amid allegations of racial and verbal abuse.

Unnamed football players also told Miles Blumhardt of the Coloradoan that staff members "told players not to report COVID-19 symptoms, threatened players with reduced playing time if they quarantine and [players] claim CSU is altering contact tracing reports to keep players practicing."

CSU wide receiver Thomas Pannunzio (h/t ESPN's Myron Medcalf) posted the letter on Twitter:

"To the contrary, our experience since Coach Addazio's first day has been positive, welcoming and focused on our development as student athletes," the letter read in part, per Medcalf.

"To be absolutely clear, we have not experienced any racially insensitive comments to our teammates from the athletic department or coaching staff.

The letter is from a group of senior players calling itself CSU United, which claims that the entire team supports its efforts.

However, Medcalf reported that "Multiple sources within the CSU football program told ESPN Saturday the #CSUunited letter does not have the full support of the team."

Per Kevin Lytle of the Coloradoan, CSU has suspended all football activities following the allegations of racial and verbal abuse and has hired the Husch Blackwell law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the COVID-19 claims.

According to ESPN's Andrea Adelson, former player development coach and ex-CSU quarterback Anthoney Hill wrote a letter to CSU athletic director Joe Parker after Addazio terminated his employment with CSU in January.

Part of the letter reportedly read:

"I'm more concerned about your conduct in allowing CSU Athletics to become an environment where coaches can exhibit toxic masculinity as well as make racially insensitive comments to black players on your watch. Also, bringing in a new head football coach who tells the graduate assistants within days of knowing them that he 'doesn't give a f--k about their feelings' is contradictory to being 'committed to the holistic development of student-athletes...and of crafting a culture where students thrive.'"

As far as COVID-19's impact on the program, Lytle reported that CSU voluntarily shut down football team activities July 29 after a spike in positive COVID-19 tests.

Medcalf reported more details:

"Last week, 27 Colorado State football players missed the team's most recent practice with COVID-19 symptoms or potential exposure. After team activities were paused after eight players tested positive, some players and coaches told ESPN they viewed Addazio's plan to return 'early' from a planned 14-day quarantine as ill-advised and unsafe. By Sunday, the team had 11 positive cases. The results of Monday's re-testing for the entire team have not been released."

Addazio was hired in December after seven seasons leading the Boston College program. The 61-year-old, who also led Temple in 2011 and 2012, is at his third collegiate head coaching spot.

Colorado State has suspended all football activities upon fielding allegations of racism and verbal abuse within the athletic administration and football program notably, per Kevin Lytle of the Coloradoan.

A statement from athletic director Joe Parker on Friday read as follows:

"Today, we learned of some extremely troubling allegations of racism and verbal abuse from CSU’s athletic administration generally and in the football program specifically.

"I have consulted with President (Joyce) McConnell about these new allegations, which obviously deeply concern her as well.  Effective immediately, and for the best interests of our student-athletes, I am pausing all football-related activities indefinitely.  This includes practices, workouts, and team meetings. 

"I have also asked President McConnell to expand the independent investigation she announced on Tuesday to include a comprehensive review of our athletic department and football program specifically related to allegations of racism and verbal abuse. While we have been working hard towards playing football this fall, the holistic well-being of our student-athletes is our unequivocal top priority. We must and will address these allegations before we focus on playing football.”

Per Lytle, the Coloradoan is investigating allegations from ex-CSU players and athletic staff members who claim they "witnessed racial insensitivity and emotional and verbal abuse among coaches and athletic administrators."

This news comes after the school hired an outside law firm, Husch Blackwell, to conduct an independent investigation into allegations regarding COVID-19 practices.

Specifically, allegations claim that football coaches have "told players not to report COVID-19 symptoms, threatened players with reduced playing time if they quarantine and claim CSU is altering contact tracing reports to keep players practicing," per Miles Blumhardt of the Coloradoan.

CSU football is led by head coach Steve Addazio, who joined the program in December after seven seasons at Boston College. The 61-year-old also led Temple's program from 2011-2012.

Sean Keeler of the Denver Post provided more exclusive information on current players' plans:

"Seniors and upperclassmen on the Rams football team, a group of roughly 20, met in person Friday night, a source told The Post, to discuss the most recent charges. The group also discussed drafting a teamwide petition of support for Addazio, who was hired to replace Mike Bobo last December, and for the current staff.

"The petition would attest that the coaches had not acted in any racially insensitive way and treated players with respect.

"CSU players plan to meet Saturday morning on campus, in person, to discuss Parker’s announcement, lingering concerns over COVID-19 protocol and to gather signatures on the petition before its release, the source said."

ESPN's Andrea Adelson reported that former player development coach and ex-CSU quarterback Anthoney Hill wrote a letter to Parker outlining numerous complaints. Hill was terminated in January, one month after Addazio was hired.

The letter to Parker, which was sent after the termination, read in part as follows, per Adelson:

"I'm more concerned about your conduct in allowing CSU Athletics to become an environment where coaches can exhibit toxic masculinity as well as make racially insensitive comments to black players on your watch. Also, bringing in a new head football coach who tells the graduate assistants within days of knowing them that he 'doesn't give a f--k about their feelings' is contradictory to being 'committed to the holistic development of student-athletes...and of crafting a culture where students thrive.'"

CSU's season is currently scheduled to begin on Sept. 19 against Northern Colorado.

Colorado State president Joyce McConnell has responded to a report that football coaches at the school were attempting to cover up COVID-19 cases and told players not to report their symptoms. 

McConnell told Miles Blumhardt of the Coloradoan on Thursday she was "horrified" by the allegations and that the school would be hiring an external law firm to conduct an independent investigation.

"First of all, I was horrified, then shocked and disappointed after reading your story," McConnell told Blumhardt. "I then immediately turned to finding out the truth because the most important thing is the health of our student-athletes."

McConnell sent an email to the CSU community regarding the accusations, writing:

"I tell you all now that nothing is more important to me or to CSU than the health and well-being of our students. Nothing. They are our purpose and our responsibility, each and every one of them, whatever sport they play or major they declare.  

"Effective immediately, I have launched an investigation into the concerns raised in the article. This investigation will come out of my office. It will move quickly, and I will transparently share the outcome with all of you."

Football players told Blumhardt CSU coaches have dissuaded them from reporting COVID-19 symptoms.

Players also said coaches have threatened to decrease playing opportunities for anyone who enters quarantine. An athletics staff member also said contract tracing reports have been maliciously altered to keep players on the field.

Per Kevin Lytle of the Coloradoan, CSU announced on July 29 that it would pause the football team's summer workouts after eight positive cases came to light from the 140 tests given to student-athletes since their return to campus in June.

"We are taking this step to voluntarily pause football activities to minimize the opportunity for this virus to spread any further," CSU athletic director Joe Parker stated.

"We will always put the health and safety of our student-athletes and community first, and while we are disappointed to see this spread occur within our program, we remain encouraged for the continued collaboration we have experienced with our University’s Pandemic Preparedness Team, local, county, and state health officials."

CSU hired ex-Temple and Boston College football coach Steve Addazio to run the program last December.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, CSU football plans to play an eight-game Mountain West Conference schedule. Their slate will begin no earlier than the week of Sept. 26, per Matt Schubert of the Denver Post.

Colorado State football players and athletic department staff say coaches have tried to cover up COVID-19 cases, according to Miles Blumhardt of the Coloradoan.

Players and staff told Blumhardt coaches told players not to report symptoms and threatened to reduce playing time for those who quarantine. They also alleged the team is altering contact tracing reports. CSU President Joyce McConnell announced an investigation into the allegations Tuesday night, per Justin Michael of DNVR Sports:

The Rams had 16 confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, while 27 players were missing because of COVID-19 during the last practice on July 29. The team was forced to pause workouts because of the outbreak.

"I believe there is a cover-up going on at CSU," an anonymous player said. "But they could only cover it up so long and now that we have so many cases across athletics, they can't cover it up anymore. It’s not about the health and safety of the players but about just trying to make money off the players."

There were 10 different players and staff members who provided similar stories to the Coloradoan.

"There are some red flags in the athletic department, but the common denominator with this administration is to protect the coaches before the student-athletes and that makes them feel more like cattle than student-athletes," a staff member said.

Other players have refuted the story on social media (warning NSFW language):

Colorado State had announced zero positive tests upon players arriving to campus in early July, but eight players tested positive a short time later and it was up to 17 by the end of the month.

The school is still waiting on results from 150 athletes tested on Monday.

Players said head coach Steve Addazio, who was hired in December after an extended stretch at Boston College, hasn't followed protocols, including wearing masks, and has pushed for practices over safety.

"A lot of players don't feel safe at football practice," one player said.

CSU athletic director Joe Parker denied that the staff is subverting safety protocols.

"There is no influence from our coaching staff on those kinds of decisions, and those decisions are made outside of the athletic department and that is the way I want it," he said.

San Jose State University announced it's retiring its "Spartan Up" hand gesture as part of a series of actions to address anti-Black racism. 

University president Dr. Mary A. Papazian cited the gesture's similarity to "what has become a well-known White Power hand gesture."

Athletics director Marie Tuite also issued a statement on the measure:

"We all agree that the gesture has become part of the fabric and footprint of our University, however when the gesture is used improperly, it can be offensive to some members of our University family. When our 'Spartan Up' hand gesture was misinterpreted as an 'okay' sign and not the proper gesture, the improper sign created a division in our campus community. It was timely and appropriate to make the decision to no longer use the hand gesture associated with 'Spartan Up.'"

The Southern Poverty Law Center's David Neiwert wrote in September 2018 that white nationalists had begun to co-opt the once-benign hand signal. The purpose was "both to signal their presence to the like-minded, as well as to identify potentially sympathetic recruits among young trolling artists flashing it."

"Spartan Up" dates back to 1990, when a former marching band director suggested band members, cheerleaders and fans should bring their thumb and forefinger together to form what looked like a spartan's helmet.

The retirement of "Spartan Up" comes as Americans across the country are demonstrating to call for meaningful reforms to root out systemic racism and social inequality.

UNLV announced earlier this month it was removing the statue of its mascot, Hey Reb!, that was stationed outside of the school's alumni center.

The NCAA has also banned all championship events in states that fly the Confederate flag, a policy that only applies to Mississippi for the time being. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey recently said the conference might reconsider staging championship events in Mississippi if the state doesn't change its official flag.

An unnamed Colorado State football player was allegedly held at gunpoint Thursday by a Colorado man who thought he was a member of the anti-fascist Antifa movement.

Kevin Vaughan of KUSA reported Friday the Rams player and another man, who were both going door-to-door for a roofing company after a recent storm, were allegedly held up by Scott Gudmundsen, who was arrested at the scene with two guns that were seized for evidence.

The player was described as a "man of color" by the school in an official statement.

Loveland Police Lt. Bob Shaffer told KUSA that police received a call from Gudmundsen, who said he armed himself because he saw two "Antifa guys" walking around the neighborhood.

"I am going out there to confront them," he told police.

His son, Stanley Gudmundsen, emailed a statement to KUSA saying his father is receiving treatment at a local mental health facility.

"Our sincerest thoughts go out to the two salesmen and we apologize to them and their families for the actions of our father and wish them well," he wrote.

ESPN's Alex Scarborough provided a portion of the letter CSU president Joyce McConnell sent to the school community following the incident:

"Our student is a young man of color, while the perpetrator is white. Regardless of what investigators learn or reasons the perpetrator gives, we know this: Our student got up Thursday morning, worked out with his team, then showered, dressed and went to work. Hours later, he was facing a stranger with a gun and hearing police sirens that had been inexplicably called on him. Given what we have seen happening in cities across this country, we know all too well that this encounter could have proceeded very differently."

U.S. President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr have blamed Antifa for violence at nationwide protests after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed while in Minneapolis Police custody May 25. A New York Times analysis found no evidence to support the claims by Trump and Barr.

Premier Roofing Company CEO Chris Tulp released a statement to KUSA saying he wanted Gudmundsen "punished to the fullest extent of the law:"

"I have spoken to both teammates and they are understandably shaken. I want to respect their space. With that said, we intend to stand up for the members of our team who are hard-working, honest, charitable, good people. We are proud of them and deeply saddened that they were subjected to this horrific incident and will stick with and support them in any way necessary to ensure justice is served."

No further details about the Colorado State player were immediately released. The Rams are scheduled to open the 2020 season Sept. 5 against Colorado.