PSAC votes to cancel winter sports
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, of which California University is a member, announced Wednesday it has canceled its winter sports regular seasons and championships.
Winter sports include wrestling, men’s and women’s basketball, swimming and indoor track and field.
The announcement comes after a majority vote Tuesday night of the PSAC’s Board of Directors, which includes the 18 presidents representing each member school.
“With careful consideration to health concerns and realistic abilities to conduct sport seasons amid this pandemic, our conference and our membership is forced to make some very difficult decisions,” PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said in a release. “With the time we have to continue weighing our options, we are fully committed to playing a spring sports season. We will remain supportive of any other decisions to play sports and host championship events should our membership view it as a safe and reasonable opportunity.”
Last week, the PSAC canceled championship seasons in fall sports, all of which were being considered for play in the spring of 2021.
The conference, however, did not slam shut the door on the possibility of some sports being played this school year, saying that if six or more member schools commit to participating in any canceled sport, then the conference will reinstate a championship season. Member schools had until 12 p.m. Wednesday to inform PSAC officials of its intention to opt-in on sports that have been canceled.
The PSAC office will review all notifications and make an announcement as soon as possible as to whether there is enough support to continue with a championship season in any sport.
California athletic director Karen Hjerpe said the Vulcans opted back in for two sports: cross country and women’s swimming.
“Women’s swimming would be moved to April, which would give our student-athletes enough time to get back on campus, get in shape and condition, then compete for a conference championship,” she said. “Cross country, because it is an outdoors sport, we feel like you can social distance more easily.”
The PSAC had a plan in place for basketball that would have had each school playing three games per week – Monday, Wednesday and Saturday – for six weeks starting Jan. 17. The regular season would have ended Feb. 27 followed by the conference tournament the first week of March.
“Basketball is an indoor sport, which is more challenging because of gathering limitations,” Hjerpe said. “Another factor for basketball, playing a schedule that would be three games per week for six weeks, is we haven’t been face-to-face with our athletes since March. If we bring them back Dec. 28, then they would have to go through quarantining, then conditioning. That leaves a very short period of time before a first competition of Jan. 17.
“This is very difficult. I feel bad for the kids who are graduating and have a job lined up or want to move on to the next part of their life. They want some closure to their senior seasons.”
PSAC East Division member West Chester announced last month it will not field sports teams for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year because of COVID-19 concerns.