(Stats Perform) – The Ivy League became the first Division I conference to eliminate its fall sports season due to the coronavirus pandemic, although a potential shift of competition to the spring semester remained a possibility Wednesday.
Whether other conferences will follow with similar decisions has grown to be an even bigger issue.
Although the Ivy League had yet to make a formal announcement, it said last week the decision would come on Wednesday.
Stakeholders across college sports have awaited the Ivy’s decision while continuing to formalize fall plans. Most conferences intend to have a season, although a number of schedules will be shortened and include less travel. Some Division I schools have canceled various games, and some Division II and III schools have canceled fall sports already.
The northeastern Ivy League is composed of eight of the nation’s elite academic schools. According to CBS Sports, the league’s council of presidents informed its athletic departments there will not be sports until after Jan. 1, adding an update will follow later this month on the status of winter sports.
Ivy League football teams don’t participate in the FCS playoffs, so a seven-game league-only schedule in the spring semester has been considered a possibility. The canceling of the fall schedule eliminates 24 non-league games, including 13 against Patriot League schools and Princeton’s FBS matchup at Army.
Whether the Ivy decision will be a trendsetter is unknown. In March, the league was the first D-I conference to cancel its men’s and women’s basketball conference tournaments due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Other conferences followed with similar decisions, and shortly afterward, spring sports and offseason athletic activities also were brought to a halt nationwide.
The hope in college athletics has been the fall season will bring a return to the playing fields, but many states are seeing a rise in positive coronavirus tests. After the NCAA allowed for schools to bring back student-athletes for voluntary workouts beginning on June 1, many returning student-athletes have tested positive, prompting some schools to suspend athletic activities again.
25% Bonus via Western Union
