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Pollard updates fans in new letter

AP FILE PHOTO - Iowa State director of athletics Jamie Pollard, right, talks with Louisiana-Monroe director of athletics Scott McDonald, left, prior to a college football game on Sept. 21, 2019, at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames.

Two days after the Big 12 Conference announced 2020 football schedule adjustments in an attempt to play the season during the COVID-19 pandemic, Iowa State Athletics Director Jamie Pollard released another in his series of update letters to Cyclone athletics fans Thursday.

The letter was shorter than many of his other updates but highlighted three key developments. First, Pollard confirmed that the Cyclones will need to cancel two of their three scheduled non-conference football games this year.

“We are currently working with all three opponents to determine the best pathway forward,” Pollard said. “Any decision is dependent upon scheduling parameters from other conferences and NCAA policies, which may delay the decision.”

The announcement was made later Thursday in a separate release that UNLV and Iowa State have mutually agreed to postpone their scheduled game in Ames until 2030, knocking out one of the options for Iowa State’s non-conference game. The announcement clarified that Iowa State is still committed to playing UNLV in Las Vegas in 2021.

“We are pleased we were able to resolve this scheduling modification so quickly,” Pollard said. “We wanted to make sure our student-athletes and fans knew we are still planning to make the trip to Las Vegas next fall to play a football game in a brand new NFL stadium.”

Next, he said the Big 12 is attempting to be as flexible as possible with its scheduling.

“The Big 12 is reworking its 2020 football schedule to create more flexibility given the anticipated need for bye weeks to accommodate potential coronavirus-related delays,” Pollard said. “We will still play the same opponents at home this year, but we anticipate new dates from what was originally released.”

Pollard also divulged a detail not announced yet by the conference: he expects the schedule to start on Sept. 26. Iowa State is planning to play its non-conference game on Sept. 12.

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