Ivy League Cancels Fall Sports, Casts Dark Cloud on College Football

The league was the first to cancel its conference basketball tournament, helping to set off a course of action that eventually led to no March Madness at all.

As the nation continues to battle the novel coronavirus, the first major college conference has cancelled its plans for fall sports. 

The Ivy League released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, announcing it will not participate in any organized sports competition through at least January 1, 2021. 

“As a leadership group, we have a responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students who attend our institutions, as well as the faculty and staff who work at our schools. These decisions are extremely difficult, particularly when they impact meaningful student-athlete experiences that so many value and cherish.
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, consistent with the policies that each of our schools is adopting as part of its reopening plans this fall.
We are entrusted to create and maintain an educational environment that is guided by health and safety considerations. There can be no greater responsibility — and that is the basis for this difficult decision.”

This is a dark omen for those hoping for a college football season in the fall of 2020, especially when added to the news that both the University of North Carolina and Ohio State University have suspended athletic activities in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19 through the ranks of their athletes. 

UNC has 37 athletes test positive for the virus, while Ohio State did not disclose its numbers. 

On Tuesday the State Fair of Texas - which normally takes place around the Red River Rivalry game in October - shuttered its doors for the 2020 season, though athletic directors for both Texas and Oklahoma quickly announced they still plan to play the game at the Cotton Bowl. 

There are dozens of contingency plans surrounding COVID-19 according to Texas AD Chris Del Conte, one of which would be to attempt to play the season in the spring. 

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