Kentucky Football: Mark Stoops says no Spring Game in 2021

Kentucky Football fans wanting to get the first glimpse of this year’s Kentucky squad got some bad news on Wednesday when Head Coach Mark Stoops announced that this year’s annual spring game has been canceled.

This comes as a precautionary measure for both players and fans as Kroger Field is being used as a vaccination site and the university doesn’t want to interfere with slowing the distribution of the shots.

With many schools in the SEC bolstering that they plan to have 100 percent capacity in their stadiums this fall, this effort will help get more vaccines administered keeping more people safe and hopefully filling the seats at Kroger field this fall.

Kentucky Football fans won’t get their first look at the 2021 Cats until fall

While it would appear that the state and the country are both starting to see light at the end of the tunnel in regards to starting a “post-COVID” era this is just one more piece of evidence that society isn’t quite out of the woods just yet. Kentucky has seen COVID numbers steadily on the decline and positivity rates lower than they’ve been in months.

Mark Stoops cited Kroger Field being a vaccination site as the reason in an interview with BBN Tonight.

"“Shout-out to the people that are testing and giving the vaccines – I went through there, it’s unbelievable smooth and I thank them for their service. It’s with good reason we’re not having a spring game this year.”"

The University of Kentucky Healthcare system has been a pivotal adversary in Kentucky’s fight against COVID-19, the University was able to convert Nutter Fieldhouse into a temporary field hospital at a moment’s notice last April when COVID cases were anticipated to skyrocket. Now Kroger Field is home to the largest vaccination hub in the state, administering over 4,000 vaccines a day.

"“We have a great relationship with UK Healthcare, I’ve been heavily involved, along with Chantel, with the Children’s Hospital for so long. They’re wonderful in so many ways, and again we appreciate what they’re doing. Being there on the front-lines and dealing with people that are sick and also trying to prevent it with the vaccines, so we thank them.”"

But with the success, Kentucky has had recently fans will surely forgo this spring to welcome them back in full force this fall. The spring game has always been something to talk about, but now it’s something fans are into as they seek even more success in the fall.

While season tickets are currently on sale, the University hasn’t yet released its plans for fans this fall. Seeing as the pandemic was worse last fall than it should be this fall, it’s not crazy to think Kentucky fans should be back, and maybe with more capacity than the 20 percent that was admitted entrance in 2020.

Stoops acknowledged how much having fans at Kroger Field means.

"“I’ll tell you this – I do anticipate having some fans in the stadium [this] year. I’m really excited to see the fans back in Kroger Field. We need them; we feel the energy,”"

It would appear for now Kentucky fans will have to wait until September 4, when the Cats host the University of Louisana Monroe to get their football fix. Practice begins on March 16 but is closed to the public. With an abundance of new players and coaches, this period will give them time to get acquainted both on and off the field.

The Cats are coming off a 5-6 season that saw them undertake a 10-game all-Southeastern Conference regular season before eventually knocking off NC State 23-21 in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, for the program’s third consecutive postseason victory.