PRINCETON, N.J. — The Ivy League announced on Thursday it will be canceling winter sports competitions for the 2020-2021 season to protect its athletes, campus community, and the public from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was made unanimously by the Ivy League Council of Presidents in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus. Athletic training opportunities and practices for college athletes will be allowed, as long as they follow their school's and state's respective COVID-19 guidelines.
Fall sports competitions will not be conducted for the upcoming spring semester and spring sports competitions will be postponed through the end of February 2021.
Winter and Fall student-athletes will not lose a season of Ivy League or NCAA eligibility.
Sports fans said they were not surprised to hear about the decision, but it was still disappointing to hear.
“I was a college basketball player and not being able to play your senior year or even your freshman year and just having to sit out, I just think kids are very upset about it,” said Kerry Wallack from Madison.
The Ivy League Council of Presidents released a joint statement on their website:
Throughout the last nine months, we have asked our campus communities to make extraordinary adjustments in order to do our part in combating the global pandemic and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty members, staff and the communities in which they live and work.
Regrettably, the current trends regarding transmission of the COVID-19 virus and subsequent protocols that must be put in place are impeding our strong desire to return to intercollegiate athletics competition in a safe manner.
Student-athletes, their families and coaches are again being asked to make enormous sacrifices for the good of public health — and we do not make this decision lightly. While these decisions come with great disappointment and frustration, our commitment to the safety and lasting health of our student-athletes and wider communities must remain our highest priority.
We look forward to the day when intercollegiate athletics — which are such an important part of the fabric of our campus communities — will safely return in a manner and format we all know and appreciate.
Yale, Connecticut's only Ivy League school, is currently at a moderate risk alert level due to COVID-19. The city of New Haven itself has had an increase in positive COVID-19 cases.
“Given the pandemic situation, it makes sense. It’d be really irresponsible and dangerous to have sports happening while there are cases spiking and things are going awry around the country,” said Yale student Avery Long.
