The Gophers have been boycotting football activities and threatening not to play in the Holiday Bowl until 10 players suspended by the school for their alleged role in a sexual assault are reinstated. Christensen reports that players in attendance at the meeting hoped to at least "have the hearings for the 10 suspended players moved up from January to early next week ... but that goal wasn't reached on Friday night" either.
Should Minnesota forgo the bowl game, Northern Illinois is next in line to play in the game due to its APR score.
Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported earlier Friday that the entire Holiday Bowl would be in jeopardy if a decision was not made by early next week as to whether the Gophers would play in the game. This would be due to time constraints for a team to have enough time to gather and practice ahead of the game. Should NIU choose not to play in the game, Cal and Arizona State would be next up. Both Pac-12 schools lost to Washington State during the regular season.
Original story
Minnesota's trip to the Holiday Bowl
is in jeopardy. But in the big picture, a few extra bowl practices, another game and a
few million dollars are all small potatoes compared to the cultural fracture growing between the football players and the university's administration.
Minnesota players
announced they were boycotting all football activities, including the bowl game if necessary, over the suspension of 10 players related to a sexual assault investigation. In response to the boycott, university president Eric Kaler
issued a statement Friday in which he remained firm on his decision even in the face of the players' threats of not playing.
I have heard the call from members of our football team to boycott the Holiday Bowl. Athletics Director Coyle and I have offered, through members of the coaching staff, to meet with the players today to discuss their concerns, but the players have thus far declined that offer. This offer remains open, as we'd like to sit down with these student-athletes and answer any questions that we are legally permitted to address. It is important that they understand our commitment to the University's values, and why any Athletics Department decision is different from any conduct code and is different from the decisions made in the criminal justice system.
Kaler cited the school's "institutional values" as the chief reason for his stance, noting they were "far more important than any football game."
