The Ivy League is the first Division 1 conference to cancel all fall sports.
The Council of Presidents voted today to cancel all competition until after January 1. However, student-athletes will be able to practice and train as long as “they are structured in accordance with each institution’s procedures and applicable state regulations.”
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It isn’t guaranteed football or other fall sports will be played during the spring.
Per a press release, a decision on the remaining winter and spring sports competition calendar, and on whether fall sports competition would be feasible in the spring, will be determined at a later date.
The Ivy League Council of Presidents offered the following joint statement: “As a leadership group, we have a responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students who attend our institutions, as well as the faculty and staff who work at our schools. These decisions are extremely difficult, particularly when they impact meaningful student-athlete experiences that so many value and cherish. With the information available to us today regarding the continued spread of the virus, we simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk, consistent with the policies that each of our schools is adopting as part of its reopening plans this fall. We are entrusted to create and maintain an educational environment that is guided by health and safety considerations. There can be no greater responsibility — and that is the basis for this difficult decision.”
Dartmouth Director of Athletics and Recreation Harry Sheehy added this statement via the athletic department’s communications office: “The health and safety of our students is of paramount importance, but I am heartbroken that our student-athletes won’t get the opportunity to compete this fall. They have spent countless hours and put tremendous effort into training for their respective sports, and while they will still have some athletic experiences on campus, it obviously is not the same without going head-to-head against your peers from other institutions. I hope that we as a nation can slow the spread of this virus so we can return to a semblance of normalcy as quickly as possible, and our student-athletes can once again compete for Ivy League championships.”
It’s unknown how much of a domino effect this decision will have on the rest of Division 1 football. The Ivy League was the first to cancel its basketball tournament and cancellations snowballed from there. But the Ivy League does its own thing within the FCS subdivision — playing fewer games than other conferences, starting the season a couple of weeks later, not participating in the playoffs.
Smaller FCS conferences like the Patriot League may make similar decisions and cancel the fall season. But the top conferences will follow the lead of the FBS and seek guidance from them, according to Missouri Valley Football Conference and Pioneer Football League Commissioner Patty Viverito.
One source told Stadium’s Brett McMurphy “Doubt Ivies have much influence (w/FBS schools). They aren’t as vulnerable financially.”
Yahoo’s Pete Thamel said “The nearly dozen FCS Commissioners held a conference call today. There’s no imminent movement for the rest of the FCS to begin exploring a spring season. A majority of the FCS commissioners are content with status quo for now.”
