The extreme summer heat has fully carried over into September and has been keeping a good number of fans away from football games. But for at least one Division II college football game, it got so bad that the two sides agreed to end it entirely – much to the disdain of fans.
Today’s game between Colorado School of Mines and Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas ended in regulation tied 16-16. It was a sweltering day with temperatures going well over 100 degrees.
Before the two teams could begin overtime, where they’d have to keep going until there was a winner, officials called for a heat stoppage. Conference rules prohibite games from resuming until wet bulb temperatures reached a safe range.
They never did.
After a while, the two teams agreed to end the game and declare it a tie.
Safe or Soft?
Across the country there have been reports that sweltering temperatures have forced fans to leave games early, sometimes having to be carried out on stretchers. But that hasn’t stopped fans from complaining that Washburn and Colorado School of Mines are “soft” for choosing to end the game in a tie amid the extreme heat:
“Weak as hell. When did Kansas football start cancelling games because of heat?” one user wrote on X.
“Lame as hell… do you have special turf that’s hotter than everyone else’s?” wrote another.
“This is the softest thing I’ve ever heard of in football,” a third declared.
“Spot the ball – very soft!”
Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
While a case can be made that the two teams should have planned better to account for the heat, the fact of the matter is that under the conditions it was just too rough and dangerous out there to continue playing.
We’re collectively very fortunate that there haven’t been more games canceled or rescheduled today because some of the reports emerging from around college football have been downright scary.
