YOUNGSTOWN — Today’s football game between Youngstown State and North Dakota at Stambaugh Stadium has been postponed by the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The conference made the announcement on Friday that the game would be resecheduled on April 17. It was called off due to a positive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing in the Fighting Hawks’ Tier 1 personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, equipment managers and staff.

The postponement leaves the Penguins with that feeling of the glass being half-empty or half-full. YSU earned its first win of the season last week, beating South Dakota 28-10. The previous week, YSU lost a tight contest to South Dakota State, 19-17.

So the improving Penguins are 1-4 overall and in the MVFC, and were likely eager to test another top-tier team.

The Fighting Hawks are ranked sixth in the FCS poll and are tied atop the league standings with North Dakota State and South Dakota State at 4-1. So they will be a handful on April 17.

A game time will be announced in the near future. The YSU athletic ticket office will honor all March 27 tickets for the rescheduled game.

Youngstown State plays on the road the next two weekends, at Western Illinois on April 3 and at Missouri State on April 10.