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OVC announces postponement of Fall 2020 competition




OVC

OVC

The OVC will be postponing fall sports competition and championships until the spring, the conference announced Friday. 

The decision affects the seasons of football, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf and the non-traditional baseball and softball schedules. The conference previously pulled the plug on its 2019 spring sports season due to COVID-19 concerns in March. 

“While we understand there are many student-athletes, families, and communities that are disappointed by the lack of Conference competition this fall, and we deeply share that disappointment; it is the OVC’s ardent intention to ensure seasons postponed are not seasons canceled if the facts support it,” OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche said. 

“I want to thank our student-athletes and coaches for their resilience during these trying times, our staff and administrators for all their hard work and planning over the past five months, and the presidents and chancellors for their strong and principled leadership over this outstanding Conference.”

The conference was the last in the NCAA Division I FCS to officially postpone its football conference season. 

As part of the decision, individual OVC schools will be allowed to play up to four non-conference football games in 2020. Austin Peay Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison announced in a statement that the Governors will still play their game scheduled for Aug. 29 against Central Arkansas. 

“I am glad we have a resolution regarding the fall sports season,” Harrison said. “While it is disappointing our student-athletes will not have a chance to compete for the Ohio Valley Conference Championship this fall, I am glad the door is open for them to compete for championships in the spring. And while our football team will have to wait to defend their 2019 OVC Championship, they are as excited as I am to still have the opportunity to play in the Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff Game against Central Arkansas on ESPN before a national audience. While we are in a period of transition, we must continue to exercise an abundance of caution to protect our student-athletes, coaches and staff. As an athletics department, we are not deterred from our overall goal of pursuing excellence in all aspects of the student-athlete experience, better known to us as the ‘Total Gov Concept.’”

The Governors currently have one other non-conference contest scheduled for 2020 on top of the Central Arkansas game. They are scheduled to travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bearcats on Sept. 19 — a payout game which includes a $400,000 paycheck for the Govs if played. 

Austin Peay was also scheduled to play ETSU on Sept. 26, but that game has been postponed to a future season after the Southern Conference postponed all fall sports last week.

The decision does not affect the conference’s currently scheduled winter and spring sports seasons. 

 

 

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