Aug 07, 2020

RMAC delays fall sports to spring 2021

Posted Aug 07, 2020 1:55 PM
Elliott Field will stay empty and quiet until spring after the RMAC announcement Thursday night that fall sports would be delayed to spring 2021.
Elliott Field will stay empty and quiet until spring after the RMAC announcement Thursday night that fall sports would be delayed to spring 2021.

By DAVE COLLINS
Panhandle Post

Chadron State and the rest of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference will have to wait until Spring 2021 for college football and volleyball games to take place.  The RMAC announced a decision to postpone fall sports until then, with the exception for three sports with much lower contact.

Here is the full RMAC release on the delay:

In a meeting earlier today, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Presidents’ Council postponed conference schedules and championships for fall sports (Football, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, Volleyball) to the spring semester except for cross country which shall compete as originally scheduled. Additionally, the Council agreed that men’s and women’s golf could continue its non-championship segment competition this fall.

After considerable deliberation, the Council’s decision was made based on the recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Board of Governors’ mandate of the NCAA Resocialization principles and the Division II Presidents Council decision to cancel fall championships. The RMAC decision allows league members further opportunity to align with the student-athlete safety measures outlined in the NCAA document to prepare for competition.

The determination on sport status was made based on the NCAA risk rankings of sport. As it stands currently with NCAA guidance, cross country and golf are lower risk than all other fall sports. Further details on the structure and scope of the spring semester practice and competition schedules for postponed sports will be released in the coming weeks.

Practice opportunities will be available in the fall semester for fall sport student-athletes per Division II rules and at the discretion of each RMAC member institution. As has been the case throughout the past five months, the RMAC will continue to monitor local and national developments regarding health and safety, along with association guidance to make any necessary adjustments moving forward.

Member representatives and conference officials understand the significant impact these decisions have on our student-athletes and stand ready to provide support and guidance in any way possible. Questions related to eligibility, scholarships and academics should be directed to member institutions as always.