In a move that could be the first domino to fall for college athletics, the Ivy League will forego sports during the first semester of this year.
CBS Sports reporter Jon Rothstein broke the news on Twitter Wednesday afternoon, saying that “sources” had confirmed that the conference, which features some of the top universities in the United States, will scrap plans to host college athletics until Jan. 1, 2021.
“Ivy League programs have been informed that fall sports have been cancelled,” Rothstein said. “The conference will not entertain any sports being played until after January 1st. Winter sports will have an update in mid-July on their respective practice schedules.”
Sources: Ivy League programs have been informed that fall sports have been cancelled.
The conference will not entertain any sports being played until after January 1st.
Winter sports will have an update in mid-July on their respective practice schedules.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 8, 2020
The Ivy League Council of Presidents later confirmed the news in a statement and said that fall sports cannot be played under campus policies that restrict travel and large gatherings and require social distancing.
“With the information available to us today regarding the continued spread of the virus, we simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk,” the statement read.
The Ivy League, which features schools such as Harvard and Yale, was one of the first conferences in the U.S. to scuttle plans for its college basketball tournament in March. The conference has yet to release an official statement on its plans for the fall.
The league, which does not compete in the top level of college football, will not affect decisions by other conferences and schools but could prove a bellwether for more cancellations as the season draws closer. Sports affected by the announcement include men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, and women’s field hockey.
