The Centennial Conference Presidents Council has endorsed a plan for spring seasons in the sports of baseball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's tennis, and men's and women's outdoor track & field. A return to play will be contingent on the Conference and its member institutions being able to conduct competitions in ways that protect the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, staff members and their communities.
"Health and safety remains paramount to our Conference," said Centennial Conference Executive Director Portia Hoeg. "While we are pleased our Presidents Council has endorsed the spring sports plan, we will proceed with cautious optimism in providing competition opportunities to our membership. I am grateful to our many constituents across the conference who have put in countless hours and worked tirelessly over the past several months to help devise a plan that will hopefully allow our student-athletes the opportunity to return to competition."
Acknowledging the complexity of the decision and the considerations unique to each campus, the Presidents Council agreed that each member institution retains autonomy over the decision as to whether or not to participate in athletics this spring. The Conference supports and respects the ability of each institution to make its own judgements regarding athletics competition, as conditions and protocols on each campus are different.
Consistent with a prioritization of health and safety, the Conference has adopted protocols on testing, travel, and game management standards that exceed the NCAA guidelines for spring sports.
The Presidents Council maintained that outside spectators will not be permitted at Centennial Conference contests. However, institutions are dedicated to providing video streaming and/or live statistics for competitions. Should conditions allow, it is the hope that this policy may be revisited for a senior day exception. Fans are encouraged to follow Centennial.org, as well as each institutions' website for more information.
The Conference and its members will continue to monitor the public health climate along with federal, state, and local guidelines regarding health and safety to make any necessary adjustments moving forward. All plans and protocols are subject to change based on the realities of the pandemic.
A modified Centennial Conference schedule and championship format will be released at a later date.
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Message to the Campus Community
Earlier today, the Centennial Conference Presidents Council announced that it has charted a path forward for intercollegiate competition during the spring season for member institutions willing and able to participate.
Above all else, Ursinus College prioritizes the health and well-being of its campus community, including student-athletes. We remain confident in our current campus-wide mitigation efforts and believe that we are in a good position to join several fellow Centennial Conference institutions in intercollegiate play this spring. Competitions will be scheduled primarily for the weekends and, currently, no spectators are permitted to attend the athletic events. Furthermore, we will implement increased testing and additional modifications to game-day procedures — protocols which will apply to student-athletes, coaches, officials, and game-day staff at institutions choosing to compete. These important measures exceed the NCAA guidelines for spring sports.
At Ursinus, in addition to the very aggressive weekly testing regimen we have in place, we now plan to test all student-athletes twice per week once competition begins. We will also test our student-athletes on the day before each competition. Given its importance to the overall health of the campus, we will adjust our weekly testing schedule for the remainder of the semester:
- Thursday testing from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. will remain for all students.
- We are moving our Wednesday tests to Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning March 8.
The Monday tests are primarily reserved for student-athletes, faculty, and staff, though we will continue to accommodate students with extenuating circumstances.
We are monitoring the athletics landscape and are in constant communication with our peers in Division III and across the country. We also remain in regular communication with health officials from our county and the state. Please understand that all plans are subject to change based on the realities of the pandemic. We also acknowledge that, while there are many differing approaches to intercollegiate play this spring, our common bond is the safety of our student-athletes and all members of our campus community.
Thank you for your continued commitment to "defending our den." Go Bears!