Greensboro College Fall Sports Season Postponed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2020
Greensboro College Fall Sports Season Postponed
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greensboro College’s athletic conference announced today that fall sports conference competition is postponed until the spring 2021 semester because of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pride sports impacted at GC are football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. Winter sports, men’s and women’s basketball, are not currently included and decisions will be dependent on public health mandates of each institution and state, in addition to the NCAA and its guidelines. Swimming and wrestling are not USA South sports.
College President Lawrence D. Czarda was among the Presidents of the USA South Athletic Conference who voted unanimously for the decision to postpone fall sports. “The 18 USAS presidents agreed that the health and safety of student athletics, coaches, athletic trainers and athletic staffs must be our priority,” said President Czarda.
“It is important to note that the USA South Conference is the largest Division III conference in the country, spanning six states, so the well-being of a very large number of people had to be considered,” Czarda added.
“The decision was made based on several factors: the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases throughout our conference’s geographical area, and the NCAA’s recommendations related to concerns over adequate testing for athletics,” Czarda added.
The Pride’s Athletic Director Kim Strable met with the coaching staff this morning. “Without a doubt, we are disappointed to be postponing our fall sports seasons to the spring semester. That said, the USA South is taking the appropriate position relative to the current pandemic conditions and we respect that decision,” Strable stated.
Strable said that Greensboro College Athletics has a top-notch coaching staff who will be using their time wisely in preparing student-athletes to compete as soon as conditions allow.
“The autonomy the USA South and the NCAA is allowing its member schools to conduct practices, strength and conditioning sessions, and skill development training will help us hit the ground running next semester,” Strable said. “We are committed to a quality student-athlete experience and fully intend to make that happen for our Pride athletes, as well as those who support them.”
Move in schedule modifications will be announced in the next few days and planning is underway to provide meaningful cohort experiences for teams even without conference games.
Because of the changes to the early schedules, no students will return to campus prior to August 15 and will receive an email by August 1 with revised move-in directions and sign-ups.
Student-athletes will be able to participate without losing a year of eligibility and the NCAA also passed a blanket waiver for athletes whose teams compete in only 50% or less of their sport’s maximum contests.
It is the intention of the USAS to play as many contests as feasible for fall sports in the spring semester and conduct championship competitions in 2021, however, the NCAA Board of Governors is currently considering this matter. In a letter to the NCAA BOG, the NCAA Division III Management Council recommended that fall championships be cancelled. (https://www.usasouth.net/landing/index)
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Media Contact:
Communications
tom.saitta@greensboro.edu
Greensboro College
815 W. Market St.
Greensboro, NC 27401
336-272-7102, ext. 5743
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