Utah State football players opt out of season finale after comments by school president
Colorado State's college football season-finale against Utah State scheduled for Saturday night was canceled Friday under unique circumstances.
Utah State's players have opted out of the game, according to Brett McMurphy of Stadium, who first reported the news. Utah State confirmed Friday night that the game was canceled due to concerns voiced by players. The Mountain West said, "the official standing of the game will be determined at a later date."
McMurphy reports that the players opted out due to comments made by school president Noelle Cockett on Tuesday about interim coach Frank Maile's religious background along with other concerns.
In a statement to Stadium, players said they are opting out "due to ongoing inequality and prejudicial issues between the players, coaches, and the USU administration."
Many players said they were concerned about the religious bias against Maile by Cockett. Maile is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A statement from players said a meeting with university leadership during the coaching search led to the issues. The statement in part read: "The purpose of the meeting was to have a say in the search for our new head coach. During the meeting, we voiced our support for Interim Head Coach Frank Maile. In response to our comments, their primary concern was his religious and cultural background. Players, stating their diverse faiths and backgrounds, then jumped to Coach Frank Maile’s defense in treating everyone with love, equality, and fairness."
In a statement released by the University, Cockett said "I am devastated that my comments were interpreted as bias against anyone's religious background.
“Throughout my professional career and, especially, as president of USU, I have welcomed the opportunity to meet directly and often with students about their experiences.
"Regardless of how difficult the conversations might be in the coming days, I remain committed to giving our students a voice."
The head coaching spot has been vacant since Utah State fired Gary Andersen in early November. On Thursday, Blake Anderson resigned as Arkansas State head coach, reportedly to take the position at Utah State.
In a players-only meeting Friday, the team unanimously voted to not play against Colorado Sate, McMurphy reports. Utah State is 1-5.
The Aggies were scheduled to fly to Colorado on Friday evening. The game was scheduled for a 9:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Fort Collins.
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It's the fourth game of the season to be canceled for Colorado State, including three of four scheduled home games.
CSU is 1-3 on the season, with the lone win coming Nov. 5 against Wyoming.
The Rams’ scheduled opener at home on Oct. 24 vs. New Mexico was canceled because of public health orders related to COVID-19 in New Mexico.
A Nov. 21 scheduled home game against UNLV was called off because of COVID-19 issues within the UNLV program.
The CSU administration canceled a Thanksgiving day game at Air Force due to a rise in case counts within the team.
Coach Steve Addazio said this week that he wants to play next week but didn't think it was likely.
Note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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