Colorado School of Mines and Washburn end their game in a 16-16 tie to avoid an hours-long heat delay

Blame the heat for a tie between Colorado School of Mines and Washburn on Saturday.

The two Division II teams agreed to end their Saturday morning game tied at 16-16 after Colorado School of Mines missed a potential game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter. The game was set to go to overtime, but the wet bulb temperature had already exceeded the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association's temperature protocols. Washburn, the home team, is a member of the MIAA.

The game had little chance of resuming anytime soon if the teams wanted to play overtime. Thanks to the heat dome that's currently occupying the middle part of the country, the temperature in Topeka, Kansas, was set to be around 100 degrees on Saturday with the heat index not dropping below 95 degrees until after sunset at 7:49 p.m.

The game was originally scheduled for a noon kickoff before it was pushed to 7 p.m. earlier in the week. With a forecast for temperatures still well into the 90s at that time and Colorado School of Mines' travel to take into account, the teams then agreed to play the game at 9 a.m. in an attempt to avoid what ended up happening anyway.

Washburn is now 1-0-1 after a season-opening win against Truman State. Colorado School of Mines is 0-1-1 after the Orediggers lost to Western Oregon to begin the 2026 season.