By Jason Nihles
sports@
theplattevillejournal.com
MADISON — The dominoes of college athletics continue to fall.
On July 27, hours after the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin and the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference pulled the plug on their fall sports, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference followed suit.
The WIAC became the latest college conference with teams in Wisconsin to fall victim to COVID-19, announcing the cancellation of competition and championships for fall season sports due to the ongoing developments related to the pandemic.
In conjunction with the WIAC announcement, UW-Platteville announced it will not compete in conference or non-conference competitions for the 2020 fall season.
The announcement impacts seven UW-Platteville athletic programs (men’s and women’s cross country, football, women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball).
Conference seasons and championships in football, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country are to be canceled for the 2020—21 academic year.
All competition in women’s golf will be suspended for the 2020—21 fall term. The WIAC season and championship in women’s golf will be moved to the 2020—21 spring term as the sport is traditionally split between fall and spring with the WIAC championship previously held in the fall portion of the season.
Each WIAC institution will retain the autonomy to establish practice opportunities within the limitations stipulated by the NCAA during the academic year.
UW-Platteville said it is committed to providing meaningful opportunities for the student-athletes and programs and is developing plans following the announcement of the cancellation of fall season sports.
Winter and spring season sports are not part of the announcement.
Determinations with regards to the winter sports season, including the start date and the manner in which competition will be conducted, will be determined at a later date.
The WIAC and member institutions continue to develop plans for the upcoming academic year as the pandemic progressively evolves.
Earlier on July 27, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin announced it was postponing fall conference competitions after a unanimous vote from its Council of Presidents.
Carroll University and Carthage College represent Wisconsin in the CCIW.
“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,” the CCIW’s statement read.
“Although the DIII Management Council has recommended to the NCAA Board of Governors that they cancel all DIII Fall Championships, the CCIW COP has charged the conference staff with exploring competition opportunities for cross country, football, soccer and volleyball in the spring, while maintaining conference competition for all spring sports including golf and tennis.”
Also on July 27, the 12-team Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference, home to Edgewood College, Lakeland, MSOE, Concordia-Wisconsin, Marian and Wisconsin Lutheran, announced it was postponing all conference regular-season games and championships through Dec. 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Student-athletes were notified of the decision Friday before it was made public.
The 10-team Midwest Conference, home to St. Norbert, Lawrence, Ripon and Beloit College suspended all sports through Dec. 31 also on Monday.
In high school sports, 24 states have pushed some or all of its fall sports into the spring according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Wisconsin left it to the individual school districts to determine its sports seasons and schedules, though it did delay the start of practices to Aug. 17 for cross country, swimming, girls golf and tennis. Football, volleyball and boys soccer won’t be allowed to start practicing until Sept. 7.
The Illinois High School Athletic Association is shifting multiple sports to the spring and will work with a four-season sports plan for 2020-21. Boys and girls golf, boys and girls cross country, girls tennis and girls swimming will all go on as planned, with a season starting date of Aug. 10 and ending Oct. 24.
Other sports, like football, boys soccer and volleyball, will begin Feb. 15 and end May 1. Normal spring sports, like baseball, softball and track and field, will begin May 3 and end June 26.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association announced July 28 it would run a phase-in approach to fall sports, with practices beginning around the state Aug. 12. Football, volleyball and soccer do not have an official competitive start date, however.
Iowa high schools are sticking to its practice and competitive dates, with a 7-week regular season scheduled and a postseason where all teams qualify for the playoffs. Schools can play five, six or seven games during the regular season. The Minnesota State High School League plans to wait for guidance from Gov. Tim Walz, which could come by Aug. 1.
— Adam Krebs contributed
