The Ohio Athletic Conference Presidents Council and its 10-member schools have postponed all intercollegiate competition through Dec. 31, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This is truly unfortunate news for the more than 350 fall sport student-athletes, especially our seniors, who were looking forward to their final season of fall competition," ONU President Daniel DiBiasio said.
"To be sure, such a decision was extremely difficult, and all involved gave it thorough, serious and thoughtful consideration.
"Ultimately, however, it was necessary to give the highest priority to the health and well-being of our student athletes and the student athletes at the other OAC schools."
"Ohio Northern, working with the OAC and the NCAA, will explore opportunities for our fall sports programs to compete in some way during the spring. In addition, we are committed to providing our student-athletes with opportunities to be involved in conditioning and preparation for competition according to guidance from the CDC, NCAA and the local health department," DiBiasio said.
"Although our winter sports teams will not compete in calendar year 2020, we will continue to monitor the pandemic to determine how best to proceed in spring."
"The health and safety of our student-athletes will always be paramount," ONU Director of Athletics Tom Simmons said.
"We will focus our efforts on providing a quality experience after this period has passed. We will come through this together as an ONU family and be prepared to continue our strong athletic tradition into the future."
From the OAC:
The Presidents Council of the Ohio Athletic Conference has postponed all NCAA intercollegiate athletics competition through Dec. 31, 2020, amidst continued concerns about COVID-19. The Conference is committed to moving NCAA intercollegiate competition to the spring, with various models being currently discussed.
While competition will not occur in Fall 2020, the Conference is planning a robust engagement of student-athletes during the fall semester with conditioning and preparation for competition according to CDC guidelines and NCAA criteria in conjunction with local health guidelines.
"The OAC believes we can continue to provide an excellent experience for our student athletes," said Tim Gleason, Commissioner of OAC, "while continuing to make the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, families, fans and campus communities our highest priority."
The fall sports that have intercollegiate competition postponed include:
• cross country
• football
• golf
• soccer
• tennis
• volleyball.
The winter-season sports of basketball, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, and wrestling will also have intercollegiate competition postponed during the 2020 calendar year, with plans to resume in January 2021.
The OAC looks forward to cheering on our great student-athletes in the Spring 2021 semester!
