The Iowa-Michigan Champions Week football game scheduled for Saturday has been canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Wolverine program.

This is the first time an Iowa game has been canceled this season. The Hawkeyes played all eight of their regular season games and were only team in the Big Ten West to do so. The teams were scheduled to meet Saturday at 6 p.m. at Kinnick Stadium.

“First and foremost just really disappointed that we’re not able to play Saturday,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said on a scheduled video conference Tuesday. “I think all of us were looking forward to this game and this challenge. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen.”

Ferentz said Iowa does not plan to pursue another opponent for this weekend.

“I’d certainly be against it,” Ferentz said. “… When we learned the news this afternoon, probably 75 percent of our preparation had already been done. Our staff has been working hard since Sunday morning trying to get ready for this ball game. Trying to flip it over to play someone else this weekend wouldn’t be fair to the sport. Most of all it wouldn’t be fair to our players. We wouldn’t be representing the kind of team we want to put on the field. I think that would be a really regrettable thing.”

Michigan has canceled three consecutive games because of positive COVID-19 cases within its program. The Wolverines canceled their games against Maryland and Ohio State in the final two weeks of the regular season.

“We do not have enough available players at multiple position groups to field a team at Iowa,” Michigan’s Athletic Director Warde Maneul said.

Bruce Feldman, a college football reporter for The Athletic, reported that Michigan was without more than 50 players this week in practice of positive COVID-19 tests and contact tracing procedures. With the game called off, Michigan’s season is over. The Wolverines reportedly will not pursue a bowl game opportunity and will finish the year with a 2-4 record.

The Indiana-Purdue Champions Week game was also canceled Tuesday morning in a joint decision between the schools.

The 6-2 Hawkeyes have won six games in a row after dropping their first two games of the season. Several teams around college football have opted not to play in a bowl game following their regular seasons. Ferentz said Tuesday that, as of now, Iowa will accept a bowl invitation.

Bowl selections will be made Sunday.

“It would have been great to play one more game,” Ferentz said. “That ain’t gonna happen. Now we move onto the next one, and hopefully there is a next one.”