Ivy League cancels winter sports, delays spring schedules



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Syracuse, NY – The Ivy League will not play winter sports during the 2020-2021 season and have delayed spring sports to at least the end of February, the Council of Presidents of the ‘school.

In addition, the league will not be holding a competition for fall sports carried over into the next spring semester.

The unanimous decision followed an analysis of the current rising rates of coronavirus and the need to continue campus policies related to travel, group size and campus visitors. Winter and fall sports athletes will not lose an Ivy League or NCAA season of eligibility whether or not they register.

“It’s heartbreaking, this is the decision none of us want to make,” Ivy League executive director Robin Harris told NJ Advance Media Thursday night in a phone interview. “I’ve been through this twice now, and I didn’t want to have to do it again, and if you had told me in March that I would do it again, I wouldn’t have believed you.” And the same in July. I can’t believe we’re here again.

Winter sports had already been suspended at least until January 1. The decision to eliminate them has an impact on sports like basketball and hockey, among others. The spring uncertainty, meanwhile, particularly cast doubt on powerful lacrosse programs like Yale and Cornell.

The presidents of Ivy released this statement:

“Over the past nine months, we have asked our campus communities to make extraordinary adjustments in order to play our part in the fight against the global pandemic and to protect the health and well-being of our students, members. faculty, staff and the communities in which they live. and the work.

“Unfortunately, the current trends regarding the transmission of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent protocols that need to be put in place hamper our strong desire to return to intercollegiate athletics competition in a safe manner.

“Student-athletes, their families and coaches are once again called upon to make enormous sacrifices for the good of public health – and we are not taking this decision lightly. While these decisions come with great disappointment and frustration, our commitment to the safety and long-term health of our student-athletes and communities at large must remain our top priority.

“We look forward to the day when intercollegiate athletics – which is such an important part of the fabric of our campus communities – will safely return in a way and format we all know and enjoy.

Lindsay Kramer is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and syracuse.com. Do you have a comment or a story idea? He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].

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