WILBERFORCE, Ohio — Central State University will not field teams in football, women’s volleyball, men’s cross country or women’s cross country this fall as the league they participate in, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, has suspended fall sports in response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
“I echo the sentiments of my colleague SIAC presidents of our confidence that the decision ... is consistent with our fundamental health and safety priorities,” CSU President Dr. Jack Thomas said. “This difficult but necessary decision is based on data and science as well as current coronavirus infection trajectories. CSU remains focused on the health, wellness and safety of our students, staff, fans and community.”
The SIAC made the announcement July 10.
SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore said, ”The action taken by our conference to suspend fall sports was informed by a core desire on the part of our SIAC member institutions to make every effort to protect and mitigate COVID-19 related health and safety risk exposure to our students, coaches, and staff during this uncertain and unpredictable environment.”
Moore said the SIAC intends to seek eligibility relief for student-athletes affected by the health-related interruption, similar to relief accorded to 2020 spring sport student-athletes whose seasons were interrupted during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak.
SIAC institutions are committed to assessing the possibility of moving some fall sports, including football, into the spring semester.
Certain SIAC institutions may be accorded the latitude to continue to participate in intercollegiate athletics based on preexisting commitments that may be unique to those particular colleges and universities. However, those institutions will not be competing for championships this fall.
CSU Director of Athletics Tara A. Owens said the university will continue to honor any current scholarship offered to eligible student-athletes.
“Discussion about fall sports being moved to compete in the spring of 2021 are ongoing,” she said. “We expect to have additional details in the coming weeks.”
Central State competes as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The university fields teams in 10 sports: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and women’s volleyball. CSU has been a member of the SIAC since 2014.
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