MADISON, Wis. – The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has stopped the most played rivalry in college football.

Sources told the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Saturday’s matchup between Wisconsin and Minnesota is being canceled due to ongoing coronavirus concerns with the Gophers football program.

The decision marks the first time Wisconsin and Minnesota will not play in 1906

It’s Wisconsin’s third game canceled this season because of coronavirus but the first outside of their control. Minnesota was missing over 20 players because of COVID concerns last Friday and canceled practice Tuesday while awaiting further testing results.

Per the school, nine student-athletes and six staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last five days. There were additional presumptive positive tests Tuesday and the program is awaiting confirmation of those results.

The decision to pause football activities was made by athletic director Mark Coyle, university President Joan Gabel and athletics’ medical director Brad Nelson after consulting with the Big Ten Conference.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff has always been our main priority,” Coyle said in a release. “We have experienced an increase in positive cases recently and have made the responsible decision to pause team activities.

"We will continue to rely on the guidance of our medical experts as we navigate the next several days. We are doing everything we possibly can to miss the fewest amount of days possible. Our goal is to be healthy enough and ready to compete on December 5 against Northwestern.”

Because the Badgers can only play a maximum of five regular season games, Wisconsin is not eligible for the Big Ten championship game. That distinction appears moot due to the Badgers’ loss to Northwestern Saturday, as the Wildcats (5-0) would have needed to lose two of their final three games for Wisconsin to have a chance to overtake them.

Wisconsin has only played one home game this season, a 45-7 victory over Illinois on October 23.

Coyle subsequently told reporters he is open to discussing moving the UW game to Dec. 19. That is the date of the Big Ten title game and other crossover games.