UTEP football's game against North Texas has been postponed. The game was scheduled to take place on Oct. 31 at the Sun Bowl. 

The decision comes days after El Paso instituted a stay-at-home order and 10 p.m. curfew due to escalating cases of COVID-19 in the area. 

"We are disappointed to have our first postponement of a Conference USA game, but the health and safety of our student-athletes, staff and coaches is our number one priority," said UNT President Neal Smatresk.  "We send our best wishes to the entire El Paso community as they face the challenge of dealing with the latest outbreak."

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have risen by 300 percent, according to the El Paso Public Health department. El Paso County leads the state with 7,651 cases over the past seven days, which makes up more than one-sixth of all cases statewide. 

This is UTEP's second matchup postponed by COVID-19, joining a Sept. 17 matchup against Southern Miss. Conference USA will prioritize rescheduling matchups against division opponents, of which both UNT and Southern Miss are for the Miners.