Old Dominion announced Monday that it is postponing all bankruptcy sports, including football, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
ODU is the first Conference USA team to announce that it will not be playing this fall.
“We conclude that the season – including travel and competition – posed too great a risk to our student-athletes,” said school president John R. Broderick.
Former Penn State official coordinator Ricky Rahne, who was hired in December to coach Old Dominion’s football team, issued a statement saying he was “heartbroken for our student athletes” but that he supported the decision.
– Ricky Rahne (@RickyRahne) August 10, 2020
The proposal will also have implications for seasons of field hockey, men and women, and volleyball. The school hopes to play its spring sports seasons pending NCAA approval.
Old Dominion joins UConn and the MAC in canceling fall football seasons.
On July 20, athletic director Wood Selig offered insight into the discussion in a Q&A on the school’s news website.
“I would have to say the only thing that is different now is that the coronavirus is bigger and worse than it was in March and that it is now more widespread than it would be expected,” he said. “If it was a good idea in March to stop competition, I can not help but think it would be a smart idea to maintain this philosophy this fall.”
Selig also said he does not feel like the spring sports season is a sure bet.
“If there is no vaccine in January, and we still stand for what we are today, is spring really the answer or do we just keep staring at the road like we have been?” he said. “In all honesty, as high contact as so many of our sports are, until there’s a vaccine, I think we’s just kidding ourselves that it’s going to be safe (to play sports) and that we’ll be OK. If the “Health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and others is the guiding principle for what we do, not income, not dollars and cents, then I find the decision easy. I take it for granted.”
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