On Thursday evening, Southwestern University Interim President Dale Knobel announced the suspension of all athletic competition as a precautionary measure to the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
"These decisions are not easy, but my commitment to you is to communicate all pertinent information as quickly and effectively as possible," Knobel said. "In trying to protect both the welfare of the campus community and the ability of students to complete their spring coursework, and, in some cases, their degrees, in the face of COVID-19, we have been taking a step by step approach—taking one step and then evaluating before considering the next."
The decision came after a conference call between presidents of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) schools, where it was decided the conference would suspend all competition indefinitely after the NCAA announced it would cancel all remaining championships.
From the SCAC:
"Following a meeting of the league's President's Council, and in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) has made the decision to indefinitely suspend all regular season conference and non-conference competition effective Monday, March 16.
SCAC leadership will engage in discussions with the NCAA about any and all implications of a suspension in conference competition; specifically, the league will request support for an extra year for all spring sport student-athletes whose seasons were just canceled.
Member institutions still have the ability to decide whether they will continue winter competition, or whether they will suspend all athletics-related activity for the entirety of the spring semester."
Currently, the school has extended spring break for a full week, ending on Sunday, March 29. On Monday, March 30, Southwestern will deliver coursework through distance learning mechanisms through April 9. The university will continue monitoring the situation during that time to assess whether on campus instruction can resume Monday, April 13.