Four conferences with Wisconsin-based programs have canceled or postponed many fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or WIAC, has canceled conference seasons and championships in the sports of football, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country for the 2020-21 academic year. It has also decided to move women’s tennis and women’s golf to the 2020-21 spring term.
A decision on winter sports will be made later, WIAC said.
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin has also decided to postpone all fall conference competition and championships.
“The highest priority at each institution is the health and wellbeing of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campus communities and intercollegiate athletics continues to pose a significant increased risk,” it said in a statement.
The Midwest Conference announced it will suspend league competition through Dec. 31.
“We did everything we could over the past couple of months to develop schedules, event management protocols and testing policies so that we could compete this fall,” said Midwest executive director Heather Benning in a statement. “However, due to the recent sustained surge of cases across the country, and a lack of guaranteed access to timely and reliable testing with the frequency recommended by the NCAA, the Conference does not feel it is in a position to sponsor intercollegiate athletic competition at this time.”
The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference also announced that they “made the difficult decision” to postpone all conference regular-season competitions and championship events through Dec. 31, 2020.
“While we recognize this is disappointing news to student-athletes anxious to get on the field, court, or course in the fall, we look forward to providing a meaningful experience for them in the spring,” said Dr. Eric Fulcomer, Northern Athletics president and president of Rockford University, in a statement. “We thank our athletes and families for their understanding, as well as the shared commitment to meeting the challenges of COVID-19 with the same determined spirit they bring to their respective teams.”
