San Diego State football is grappling with a serious mumps outbreak, with 14 confirmed cases and one probable case ripping through the locker room just as the Aztecs are about to kick off their Pac-12 schedule this Saturday against Texas State.
The Outbreak: Spreading Fast and Hitting Hard
This whole nightmare started brewing on September 18, when the university first confirmed three mumps cases within one of its athletic teams. The San Diego Union-Tribune quickly pinpointed it as the football squad, and man, has it blown up since then. Now, we’re looking at 14 confirmed cases, plus one probable case. That’s a highly contagious virus just tearing through the team’s locker room, and it’s a brutal situation for everyone involved.
The school is definitely trying to get a handle on it, working with San Diego Public Health Services. They’re doing daily screenings, contact tracing, testing like crazy, and pushing out doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine booster. It’s a full-on battle. SDSU even put out a statement saying these new cases reflect “spread within the team and potential exposure to additional close contacts” because symptoms can take 12 to 25 days to show up. They’re taking daily actions, but you gotta wonder if it’s enough to stop this thing.
More Than Just Football Problems for the Aztecs
As if dealing with a spreading virus isn’t enough, this is the latest gut punch in what’s already been a brutal 2026 season for the Aztecs. Coach Sean Lewis had his weekly press conference, but he wasn’t spilling any tea on the mumps situation, saying “There’s a lot of different things going on that are football-related and non-football-related” and straight up citing FERPA and HIPAA. Fair enough on the privacy, but it leaves you wondering just how many guys are impacted. The Wednesday night availability report listed 32 players, which is a massive number to have up in the air.
On the field, things aren’t exactly sunshine and rainbows either. The team is stumbling into conference play with a brutal 1-3 record after dropping three straight games, including a blowout loss on the road against Toledo last week. Lewis tried to rally the troops, telling them they had “eight weeks left in the regular season” and needed to “maximize opportunity” because they were only guaranteed 12 games. That’s a tough talk to give when your team is literally fighting off a virus while trying to turn around a losing season.
The Aztecs are scheduled to kick off against Texas State at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Can they even put a healthy squad on the field, let alone one that can snap this losing streak? This game isn’t just about X’s and O’s, it’s about sheer resilience in the face of some wild adversity. Good luck, fellas. You’re gonna need it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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