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Ivy League Thursday canceled winter sports and postponed his spring sports, citing coronavirus cases across the United States and student safety.
“Unfortunately, the current trends regarding the transmission of the Covid-19 virus and the subsequent protocols that must be put in place hamper our firm desire to return to intercollegiate athletics competition in a safe manner,” the league council wrote in Thursday’s announcement.
The unanimous decision affects winter sports such as basketball, ice hockey, squash, swimming and diving, wrestling and indoor track and field. In addition, spring sports teams like lacrosse, baseball and softball will have their seasons delayed at least until the end of February.
Athletes will not lose a year of eligibility whether they register or not, the league said, and registered student athletes are still allowed to practice, “provided they are structured according to the procedures of each institution. and applicable national and local regulations.
The announcement comes as coronavirus cases skyrocket across the United States: Wednesday saw the most new coronavirus infections in a day – surpassing 140,000, according to a New York Times database – as hospitals reach capacity, forcing some states to reinstate more stringent social distancing protocols, curfews and mask warrants. More than 65,000 coronavirus patients were being treated in hospitals on Wednesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, which is the highest number at any point in the pandemic.
Colleges and universities have been linked to at least 252,000 cases of coronavirus and at least 80 deaths in more than 1,600 schools since the start of the pandemic, according to a New York Times investigation.
The Ivy League had suspended fall sports until January and on Thursday the conference announced it would not be hosting those seasons in the spring.
Other conferences that had made similar decisions to suspend fall sports have turned the tide, taking precautions to keep football afloat through the fall, but facing postponements and cancellations due to infections. viral. The Southeastern Conference, home to soccer powerhouses like Alabama and Texas A&M, postponed four games scheduled for this weekend as players and staff from all programs tested positive for the virus.
“It’s a difficult circumstance, there’s no way to describe it any other way,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a teleconference with reporters Wednesday. “But we knew that challenges would arise for college sports. They would emerge at the Southeastern Conference, just as challenges are present throughout society in our country.
Sankey said other sports – including cross-country, soccer, volleyball, swimming and diving – took off without as much disruption; he added that basketball was due to start in the coming weeks.
The Big Ten Conference, which began at the end of October, declared a “no contest” rule for games canceled due to virus concerns in order to meet a tight nine-week schedule. He has already had to cancel two games for Wisconsin. Maryland, which is part of the Big Ten, shut down all football activities on Wednesday due to increased cases of the virus.
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