The Southwestern Athletic Conference has postponed sports competitions and fall championships due to the coronavirus pandemic, and has begun bringing the fall calendar to the spring semester of 2021, according to a statement provided to ESPN on Monday.
Soccer plans include a seven-game conference schedule that begins with an eight-week training period in January 2021. SWAC Commissioner Charles McClelland said the games would begin near the end of February or early March. . Each school will play six conference games (four divisional / two non-divisional) with the option to play one game without a conference.
While several other conferences have also postponed fall sports, such as the Ivy League, Patriot League, MEAC, A-10, and CAA, none have announced plans for spring as specific as SWAC, which has led all FCS conferences to 42 of the last 43 seasons. Jackson State led FCS attendance with more than 30,000 per game.
“We wanted our fans to have something to look forward to,” McClelland said. “We wanted our student athletes to have something to look forward to, and we believe this is a sustainable plan that will allow us to be able to do it and do it from a realistic point of view.”
Still, McClelland said all conference decisions will continue to be guided by the state of the pandemic, meaning that the spring games may not occur.
The SWAC geographic footprint, located in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, has seen a continuous increase in COVID-19 cases in many of those states. That played a role in the SWAC council of presidents and chancellors decision to move the calendar from fall to spring. The decision was also made due to data suggesting that African American communities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
“If there is no vaccine, if the numbers remain high, there will be no spring,” said McClelland. “We are not going to force the game. This is all based on the fact that the March pandemic is under control.”
Details about the Cricket Wireless SWAC Football Championship game will be released at a later date, along with programming details for women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and cross country for both men and women. According to SWAC, student athletes can still participate in conditioning, strength training, and practice in all sports, provided that all local, state, and federal health and safety guidelines are met.
SWAC and MEAC generally participate in the Celebration Bowl, which honors the legacy and traditions of historically black colleges and universities, rather than the FCS championship. Last week, the MEAC announced that it postponed fall sports.
“We will contact MEAC and constituents with the Celebration Bowl to see if we can’t get something back,” McClelland said. “We would love to play the Celebration Bowl and we will work with our partners to see if that can come true.”
No decisions have been made regarding the league’s winter sports schedule.
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