Competition for fall sports, which include football, volleyball, and soccer, has been pushed back to the spring 2021 semester. 

The Great Lakes Valley Conference made the announcement on Monday. The postponement, due to the coronavirus pandemic, includes both NCAA sports and non-NCAA sports. 

However, a few sports, specifically cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, swimming and diving, and indoor track and field, still will be able to compete due to being low-risk. 

Brad Wachler, vice president of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation, addressed the GLVC announcement to Lindenwood student athletes through a virtual meeting. 

“They did approve a delay of fall sports until the spring semester by a vote of 11-4,” Wachler said. “There will be no sports competition this fall except for cross country, men and women’s golf and their non championship regular fall segment. It’s the same thing for men’s and women’s tennis, as well as swimming and diving, is permitted to start on time, and indoor track and field is being classified as low risk by the sports science institute of the NCAA.” 

Wachler also said that the delay of competition will include sports that usually hold scrimmages in the fall. 

“For the spring sports that usually have exhibitions or scrimmages in the fall, those will no longer be allowed,” Wachler said. “The only thing that will be permitted is intersquad for all of our sports. You will be allowed to have intrasquad competitions but no exhibitions or scrimmages with outside competition.”

Wachler said that crossover sports like basketball and wrestling, will be evaluated Oct. 1 to see if those sports will proceed with their normal start dates or be pushed back as well. 

Despite fall sports being pushed back, Wachler said there will still be practice and training opportunities for those who won’t be able to compete this semester. 

“It is my goal to provide practice and training opportunities this fall,” Wachler said. “We are working through protocols and what that will look like but please know we are working towards practice and training opportunities for our student athletes for all sports. It’s likely going to be an acclimation period of about two weeks before the actual start of practice.”

As for fall championships still being held for competing sports this year or not, that’s still up in the air. 

“We are still tracking the NCAA to see what they do as it relates to fall championships if they will cancel them this fall or move them to the spring. The board of governors for the NCAA just met this past Friday and did not come out with a resolution yet,” Wachler said.