DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University football team's 2020 season opener versus Rhode Island scheduled for September 5, 2020 at Huskie Stadium has been cancelled, NIU confirmed Tuesday. 
 
The announcement comes in the wake of the Colonial Athletic Association's announcement on Friday that it was suspending league football competition for the fall due to COVID-19. Rhode Island officials also contacted NIU to confirm the Rams' decision to suspend the season.
 
The Rhode Island game is the first 2020 Huskie football home game to be cancelled due to the pandemic. Earlier this month, the Big Ten announced that its teams would play a conference-only schedule, which affected NIU road games at Maryland (Sept. 12) and Iowa (Sept. 26). NIU also announced that its non-conference game versus BYU would be played at Huskie Stadium on October 24 instead of at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview as planned.
 
NIU will continue to prioritize health and safety and will not seek to replace these games for the fall at this time.
 
-- NIU --