Covid Impacts on Upcoming Season

[d4_Pace]

NESCAC fall sports done... https://nescac.com/news/2019-20/NESCAC_Presidents_Statement

[jknezek]

W&L pulls the plug on all sports during the fall semester.

[Flying Weasel]

In case anyone hasn't seen it yet, D3soccer.com is tracking all the schools' and conferences' status for the fall season due to Covid-19 with links to their releases.

https://d3soccer.prestosports.com/notables/2020/COVID-Status-of-Play

[PaulNewman]

We wake up this morning to what seems to me an alternative reality that five NESCACs are potentially back in play for leaving an opening for some kind of alternative competition but nothing that adds up to the wording of "having a season."  Is this just sheer denial?  Very technical parsing of language interpreted as liberally as absolutely possible?  Backing up someone's statement that NESCACs are not acting in lockstep, even though they put out a very clear statement signed by all NESCAC Presidents?  A desperate attempt to limit the potential (likely?) domino effect?

This is only my opinion of course, but my gut reaction is that there is a straining and bending over backwards to parse language into a reality that is just not true, or even, at best, that bears no resemblance to any sort of "real season" with a  path to post-season play.  It's almost as if the schools must state in blood "No Fall Sports, period" in order to be counted as out.  Of course schools don't want to write things that starkly.  They are trying to empathize with the blow and trying to normalize as much as possible with language about contact with coaches, training opportunities, possible practices, etc.  I don't see how a school saying something at the very end that if all goes really well we may consider allowing some very limited competition is really any different than the other statements from a practical point of view.

In the updating on the site, there is a reference to Middlebury.  Well, let's look at what Middlebury said...

Dear Middlebury Community,

The NESCAC presidents released a joint statement earlier today announcing that NESCAC competition for 2020 fall sports will be canceled due to ongoing concerns around COVID-19. As a result, there will be no scheduled NESCAC competitions or championships. Individual institutions do, however, have the discretion to organize practices and to consider alternate competitions, dependent on state and local health guidelines. 

At this time, Middlebury does not have any competitions scheduled for the fall. And we continue to consult the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Vermont Department of Health, and other authoritative sources on all public health issues and their potential bearing on Middlebury programming. If public health guidelines allow for any sort of limited competition at Middlebury, we will consider them at the appropriate time and only if it is safe to do so. 

Our FAQs on the NESCAC decision can be found here.

We understand that this is difficult news for many to hear, though not unexpected given the circumstances. To our athletes, as always, your coaches are here for you if you would like to reach out. To Middlebury's many fans, we appreciate your understanding.

Athletes join those in the creative arts, community engagement, and many other activities in being challenged to find new ways to do what they love to do in the Middlebury community. We are confident that we can forge those new paths.

To our entire community, we will continue to keep you up to date on this issue and all others related to Middlebury's plans for the fall.

Sincerely,

Erin Quinn '86
Director of Athletics

Laurie Patton
President

Trying as hard as possible to address the needs and desires of students and student-athletes makes a ton of sense.  Many are working as hard as possible to ease the blow and to have the on campus semester be as fruitful as possible.  Leaving some wiggle room makes sense.  But at some point -- at some point -- we are talking about two very different things.  The overall tone of the Midd statement is regretful, apologetic, and empathetic.  Look, being able to train, being able to practice, being able to interact often with teammates and coaches, and maybe getting something akin to a Spring season with a few games against very local opponents with real referees is definitely not nothing, and may make many relatively happy given the circumstances and once they get over the blow about not having anything resembling a regular "season."  That's great.  I personally don't think the Midd statement (or the Trinity one I read) reads as though there is any actual likelihood of a few competitive scrimmages with real referees, but even so, a few games sometime later in the Fall should not be confused with qualifying as "playing in the Fall."  If I'm a student going back, I may be glad that the school is allowing some activities, but I'm not going to confuse that with there being a season. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Just FTI - as I understand it, NESCAC schools can still schedule and play games against non-conference foes. Heck, if they wanted to play a conference foe without it being a conference game I am sure that could be arranged. The conference has shut down conference games, but I have been told that at least a few schools want to try and cobble something together for their athletes.

We shall see how long that lasts ... the reality is that every day I see news change. As I was on the road yesterday, things were changing constantly. Hard to keep track when trying to stay on the road, in bad weather, at the same time.

BTW - D3sports has a comprehensive list of announcements and changes: https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2020/06/schools-call-it-off-for-fall

[jknezek]

To be fair, a school like W&L and others did basically sign it in blood. So the NESCAC schools could have written something simple. I think they are trying to leave the door open for the member schools who still hope and want to have athletics. Whether that is realistic or not is irrelevant. The statement is not the black and white statement that W&L and other schools have used, so it is legitimate to wonder at why and to speculate. Same with the Centennial. It seems like it is easy for individual schools to say no way, but much harder, outside the Ivies, for conferences to absolutely shut the door for its members. And that seems perfectly understandable to me.

[PaulNewman]

To be fair, a school like W&L and others did basically sign it in blood. So the NESCAC schools could have written something simple. I think they are trying to leave the door open for the member schools who still hope and want to have athletics. Whether that is realistic or not is irrelevant. The statement is not the black and white statement that W&L and other schools have used, so it is legitimate to wonder at why and to speculate. Same with the Centennial. It seems like it is easy for individual schools to say no way, but much harder, outside the Ivies, for conferences to absolutely shut the door for its members. And that seems perfectly understandable to me.

I think you're being very generous, and I'm not sure what you think is irrelevant.  Irrelevant in terms of being counted as not playing or playing?  On that score, maybe we need another category like "currently not intending to play but leaving the door open for consideration of some limited competition down the road."  The Middlebury statement seems pretty straightforward to me....no current plan for athletic competition, we understand that this is difficult news, reach out to your coaches if you like, along with other extracurriculars finding new ways to do what you love, and any sort of limited competition could be considered at the appropriate time and IF deemed safe to do so.  Is your read of the statement significantly different than mine?  Based on current circumstances, Middlebury is not going to be playing.

Isn't it also fair to ask what "any sort of limited competition" would mean, in the event there is an adjustment to the present stance?  One option is a relatively normal season with a shot at a NCAA tourney.  Other options could include a conference only schedule or a fully non-conference schedule where both meet the minimums for NCAA tourney consideration, and then finally, and the one seemingly applicable in this NESCAC discussion as an improbable but best case scenario, where a school "cobbles together" a few contests locally akin to what many non-NESCAC schools do in the Spring, like where Messiah has an official scrimmage with Bucknell, and a Kenyon has scrimmages with local Mt. Vernon Nazarene (NAIA), a D2 local school, and, let's say given the proximity, Denison.  Sure, the latter is better than nothing and may satisfy or partially appease some, but that's kind of irrelevant also from the point of view of "playing in the Fall" in a way that jives with the usual focus of this D3soccer.com site for instance.

Maybe our Tufts and Colby correspondents will chime in.  Also curious about Brandeis, as I suppose Tufts and Brandeis could play four times.

[jknezek]

We just don't know. But there is a distinction between W&L's "no athletic competition in the Fall semester" and what other schools have written. That is important. If you have truly closed the door, as W&L did, it's a simple statement. If you want to leave wiggle room, then you write something wordy and convoluted like Middlebury. That's all. The wiggle room may not be needed, in my opinion it's very unlikely sports will be played, but Middlebury left themselves an option, W&L didn't bother.

[PaulNewman]

OK.  FWIW, I don't see the W&L info as much different than Midd's.  Very similar except for the possibility of considering a few games down the road.  And IF W&L ends up having a couple of scrimmages across the street with VMI I won't consider W&L as being deceptive.

[jknezek]

"Considering these measures to keep our students, faculty and staff as safe as possible, the decision was made that athletics competition cannot continue until at least January 1, 2021.

The following sports are immediately impacted and will not contest a schedule during the fall of 2020: Men's & Women's Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Men's & Women's Soccer and Volleyball. "

--- W&L


If public health guidelines allow for any sort of limited competition at Middlebury, we will consider them at the appropriate time and only if it is safe to do so. 
--Middlebury

Cannot and Will Not by W&L, Consider and If by Middlebury. One has no door, one has an option. Maybe it's because I work in finance with options all the time, but part of my job is to value options, and even small ones have value. Middlebury left an option, W&L did not.

We can value Middlebury 's option differently, and I don't value it much as I said, but it exists. W&L's does not, so there is no value at all.

[PaulNewman]

"Considering these measures to keep our students, faculty and staff as safe as possible, the decision was made that athletics competition cannot continue until at least January 1, 2021.

The following sports are immediately impacted and will not contest a schedule during the fall of 2020: Men's & Women's Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Men's & Women's Soccer and Volleyball. "

--- W&L


If public health guidelines allow for any sort of limited competition at Middlebury, we will consider them at the appropriate time and only if it is safe to do so. 
--Middlebury

Cannot and Will Not by W&L, Consider and If by Middlebury. One has no door, one has an option. Maybe it's because I work in finance with options all the time, but part of my job is to value options, and even small ones have value. Middlebury left an option, W&L did not.

We can value Middlebury 's option differently, and I don't value it much as I said, but it exists. W&L's does not, so there is no value at all.

Maybe that's it...I'm NOT in finance lol.  I already conceded the difference between the two statements.  I read W&L's fine print and that was very similar in terms of coming back, interacting with coaches, possible practices, training, etc.  That's what I meant. 

I did enjoy reading about your President....a serious athlete, philosophy (and math) major at Williams and Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern.  As an undergrad philosophy major myself who got a masters in philosophy before a Ph.D. in clinical psych, and as a fellow Nietzsche fan, I was impressed.

[d3d3d3]

Union joins RPI as the second Liberty League institution to cancel fall athletics.

[y_jack_lok]

Speaking of attrition... at schools that aren't playing this fall I'd be curious to see how many players say F 'it, and give up the sport. 

I think this could be a serious problem for schools in conferences such as the SLIAC.

Maybe that is why the SLIAC is apparently full steam ahead with fall sports. https://www.sliac.org/general/2020-21/releases/20200709lwviuh

[PaulNewman]

And there goes my national championship....

With the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, especially among young people, we cannot continue to plan for a return to competitive athletics this fall. Intercollegiate athletics competition will be canceled for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year. This is the right decision for the well-being of our entire Kenyon community. We appreciate your patience throughout this process, and we understand that for our student-athletes in particular, this news may be especially hard to take.

Please understand that athletics remains an important aspect of the Kenyon student experience. For now, however, it will have a different look. The Department of Athletics, Fitness and Recreation is committed to making that experience look and feel as meaningful as possible. Your coaches and staff are here to support you, and will be focused on establishing an environment that allows for our teams to reconvene in creative and purposeful ways. They will use this time to learn and grow in ways that build our community in sport and beyond.

At this time we do not yet know what lies ahead for our winter and spring sports seasons at Kenyon, and regret that there is continued uncertainty amid rapidly changing circumstances. We expect to have better data and information in the fall.

[CC United]

I'm interested in whether the NCAA will grant players waivers if the 2020 season is cut short, assuming it happens at all.  In Division 3, a player uses a year of eligibility if he participates in one official practice for that year.   The NCAA could get in front of the issue. That would help programs and athletes decide what to do when it's time to make a decision.

NCAA Division 3 Committee Approves Blanket Waiver:

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/diii-administrative-committee-approves-blanket-waivers-participation

Good news for a lot of players.