Brentwood, TN – The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Board of Presidents has announced fall competition and championships in the sports of football, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball will be postponed due to the concerns and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.
The decision also includes the fall competitive schedules for men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis as well as the non-traditional competition seasons for baseball and softball.
OVC football-playing institutions that are able to demonstrate a team’s willingness and readiness to compete based on the NCAA’s Resocialization of Collegiate Sport: Developing Standards for Practice and Competition and the NCAA’s mental health guidance are approved to play up to four nonconference scheduled games.
In making its determination, the Board asked the conference membership to develop plans for conference competition and championships in the spring semester for the impacted sports.
“After careful deliberation, weighing all the factors as presented, and given the current uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the OVC Board of Presidents voted to postpone the Conference’s fall sports to the spring, said Beth DeBauche, OVC Commissioner.
With the focus on student-athletes, the Conference leaders made this value-based decision with a commitment to continue to monitor the evolving situation and to strive to establish meaningful competitive opportunities in the spring for our fall sport student-athletes.
“While we understand there are many student-athletes, families, and communities that are disappointed by the lack of Conference competition this fall, and we deeply share that disappointment; it is the OVC’s ardent intention to ensure seasons postponed are not seasons canceled if the facts support it. I want to thank our student-athletes and coaches for their resilience during these trying times, our staff and administrators for all their hard work and planning over the past five months, and the presidents and chancellors for their strong and principled leadership over this outstanding Conference.”
Athletically-related activities for enrolled student-athletes will be evaluated consistent with NCAA legislation and guidance, as well as state, local and institutional parameters and communicated to OVC institutions and its student-athletes accordingly.
The plans to play scheduled winter and spring sports remains unaffected at this time.
Statement from Austin Peay State University Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison
“I am glad we have a resolution regarding the fall sports season. While it is disappointing our student-athletes will not have a chance to compete for the Ohio Valley Conference Championship this fall, I am glad the door is open for them to compete for championships in the spring. And while our football team will have to wait to defend their 2019 OVC Championship, they are as excited as I am to still have the opportunity to play in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff Game against Central Arkansas on ESPN before a national audience. While we are in a period of transition, we must continue to exercise an abundance of caution to protect our student-athletes, coaches and staff. As an athletics department, we are not deterred from our overall goal of pursuing excellence in all aspects of the student-athlete experience, better known to us as the ‘Total Gov Concept.'”
