Ivy League Halts Sports Until January; Will Other Schools Follow?
In a statement, the Ivy League Council of Presidents said it didn't think it could maintain "acceptable levels of risk" for student athletes. Also: Stanford eliminates 11 varsity sports; the UIL mandates masks in its summer workouts for anyone over 10.
The Ivy League presidents placed all sports on hold Wednesday until at least January, making it the first Division I conference that will not play football as scheduled in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Witz, 7/8)
The Ivy League Council of Presidents said in a statement that their institutions are implementing campus-wide health and safety policies that will make it impossible for sports teams to compete before the end of the fall semester. "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," they wrote. (Treisman, 7/8)
On Wednesday, Ohio State and North Carolina became the latest schools to suspend voluntary workouts due to alarming numbers of positive test results. In a statement, Ohio State said the athletes who are infected will self-isolate for 14 days and receive daily check-ups from the school’s medical staff. (McCollough, 7/8)
Stanford was already facing some difficult financial choices as it tried to support one of the nation’s largest athletics departments. The coronavirus pandemic forced a dramatic and painful decision: Faced with a nearly $25 million deficit next year, Stanford became the first known Power Five school to eliminate athletic programs because of the pandemic, announcing Wednesday that 11 of its 36 varsity sports will be shuttered next year. (Marshall, 7/9)
The UIL on Wednesday updated its summer workout guidelines for strength and conditioning to include mask wearing for every participant over the age of 10 years old, the organization said Wednesday on its website. The requirement for masks — which previously had not been mandatory — was one of several changes the UIL made for strength and conditioning and skill-specific workouts amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. (Caplan, 7/8)
