CHAMPAIGN – Less than two weeks after the Big Ten Conference confirmed that Illinois and Nebraska would play a football game in Ireland on August 28, the Illinois on Wednesday announced that the competition will be held at Memorial Stadium instead.
A press release indicates that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic game will be rescheduled from Dublin due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reference is made to “extensive consultations with the Irish government, medical authorities and administrative staff in Illinois and Nebraska”.
The game will still take place on August 28th, with the Cornhuskers already filling the event’s previous schedule – November 13th – with a non-conference affair against southeast Louisiana. The revised Big Ten plans for 2021, released on February 5, showed that Illinois-Nebraska is still overseas.
“This is very disappointing to our sports program, our team and to the fans who were planning to attend the game in Dublin,” said Josh Whitman, Illinois sporting director, in a statement. “This would have been a unique experience for our players, staff and fans. We will be working diligently with Irish American Events and the Big Ten Conference to find a future opportunity for us to bring Fighting Illinois Football to the Emerald Isle. “
From February 5, travel from the United States to Ireland will be permitted provided travelers present a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arriving in Ireland, according to the US Embassy website.
But Neil Naughton, chairman of Aer Lingus College Football Classic, said in a statement that “public health must be paramount”.
“These games offer tremendous advertising potential, practical economic benefits and a real expression of the close ties between Ireland and the United States,” said Naughton. “We have made good friends with both the University of Illinois and the University of Nebraska, and I look forward to welcoming them back to Ireland in the not too distant future and welcoming their traveling fans for Ireland.” is so famous. “
In the Illinois press release, those who hold tickets to the game in Ireland will be “contacted by their retailer in the coming days”.
Colin Likas reports on football and high school sports in Illinois in The News-Gazette. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @clikasNG.
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