Northwestern Wildcats women’s basketball was issued a two-game forfeit after they failed to show up for two games in January. The Wildcats were scheduled to play against the UCLA Bruins on Jan. 12 and the USC Trojans on Jan. 15 but could not play due to wildfires that hit Los Angeles.
Northwestern Accepts Big Ten’s Decision
On Wednesday, the Big Ten conference announced that the games would not be rescheduled, and the Wildcats would be issued losses for the non-contests. However, both the Bruins and Trojans will receive wins for the games.
A Reddit post about the announcement sparked outrage among college hoop fans who felt that the conference’s decision was a bit harsh to the Northwestern team, which could not travel due to the fires.
“Makes 0 sense but ok…,” a fan wrote.
“Just rule it no contest, a loss is stupid,” another fan wrote.
“The Big Ten failed big time here,” a fan commented.
“Are the games not able to be rescheduled because the conference, one of the teams can’t/refuses, or something else. If its on the conference or the LA schools, that seems ridiculous. If it’s because Northwestern refuses to travel out there, then the Ls make sense but are still shitty. Guess this is why contracts have force majure clauses?” another fan commented.
Northwestern has one game left in the regular season, against Nebraska on March 2, which it must win to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
Athletics director Mark Jackson released a statement supporting the program’s decision not to travel for the games due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles in January.
Jackson also revealed that Northwestern had accepted the conference’s decision to issue the two-game loss.
“Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern’s Women’s Basketball after the team’s decision not to travel to Los Angeles during the tragic wildfires in Southern California,” Jackson wrote, per On3.
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“While we acknowledge that bylaws and rules are in place for a reason and we will abide by them, it does not diminish this team’s sound reasoning for not participating during this natural disaster,” he added. “We will continue to support our Women’s Basketball student-athletes and hope for a strong recovery for the Southern California region.”
Northwestern is 15th in the Big Ten, with a 2-13 conference record. They will have to battle Purdue, Rutgers, and Penn State for the final spot in the conference.
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