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March 16 Update
***ST. SCHOLASTICA AD FRANCO BARI STATEMENT***
Recently, the NCAA had made the decision to discontinue the remainder of winter and spring championships. Following this decision, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced a peacetime state of emergency and the CDC has recommended no gatherings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks. Today the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) has suspended all competitions for the remainder of the season. Needless to say, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the College of St. Scholastica and our athletic programs. With a heavy heart, we will now be joining the list of institutions who will not continue competitions or practices for the remainder of the spring season. This has been an extremely difficult situation as our athletic department truly value the student-athlete experience and are strongly committed to providing positive opportunities for our student-athletes.
Our support goes out to the student-athletes whose seasons have ended abruptly. Their strong commitment to athletics, while balancing their academic responsibilities is unparalleled and we truly understand how emotional this is. My heart truly broke when the NCAA had announced the cancellation of the winter and spring championships and like many, my immediate thought was of our senior spring student-athletes and our athletes competing at the NCAA Championships. Your coaches, the athletic staff and the entire campus community are here for you.
At this point in time, we are focusing our efforts on the health and well-being of our student-athletes, our CSS community and the Sisters on campus as we transition to remote learning in support of minimalizing risk to our community. Furthermore, CSS athletics will also be working with the NCAA and the UMAC regarding questions surrounding student-athlete participation and eligibility.
Thank you to everyone for your support and resiliency during these tremendously challenging times. Now is truly the time to rise up and support our Saints community.
#SaintsRiseUp together!
Sincerely,
Franco Bari
Director of Athletics
***UMAC STATEMENT***
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and in consideration of the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and campus communities, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Council of Presidents and Chancellors announced Monday, March 16,
that they have unanimously voted to cancel all remaining regular season conference contests for the 2020 spring sports season including the sports of baseball, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis. In addition, the Council unanimously voted to cancel the postseason tournaments and championship events for 2020 spring sports including baseball, softball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's outdoor track and field and women's outdoor track and field. As part of this decision, the conference will not recognize any further UMAC weekly awards or any all-conference and postseason honors or academic all-conference honorees.
This was an extremely difficult decision for the conference given the impact this decision has on student-athletes, families of student-athletes, spectators, coaches, officials, institutional personnel and others in our member communities. The decision comes following the NCAA Board of Governors' decision to cancel the remaining winter and spring NCAA Championships for all three divisions.
Each UMAC member institution has the autonomy to make independent decisions regarding other spring sports athletics-related activity, including non-conference competition and practices, as well as non-traditional spring segment practices and permissible competition for other applicable sports.
March 12 Update
***NCAA STATEMENT***
Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men's and women's 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities.
March 11 Update
***PRESIDENT MCDONALD'S STATEMENT***
In response to the recent message regarding the College's response to COVID-19 by President Barbara McDonald, we have provided additional information pertaining to the Athletic Department's plan of action.
Spring sports and their athletic competitions will continue as scheduled for student-athletes, coaches, training staff, and athletic administrators until further notice. Housing, meals, and essential campus functions will remain open. Any spring sport student-athlete or staff member who does not feel comfortable staying on campus for practice or attending competitions (home or away) will be supported in their decision to remain home. Non-traditional seasons for fall teams will be postponed and all student-athletes who are not competing in spring sports are to abide by the recommendations of the College and remain home until further notice. Spring athletes remaining on campus will do so under a condition of social distancing, which includes NO visitors, classwork will be done online even for those students living on campus, and other than athletic practices and competitions, the rest of campus is not open for you to access (support services will be available on line or by phone).
The College of St. Scholastica Athletics Department is encouraging fans to follow our social media channels and visit www.csssaints.com for the most up to the minute information and live coverage links for all athletic contests.
Athletics routinely applies standard precautions to daily practices, social distancing is practiced by virtue of benches, and athletics will continue to take additional hygiene precautions. To date, neither the NCAA nor the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) has recommended canceling sporting events. The NCAA has established an advisory panel headlined by NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline. More info on the panel can be found here. At this time, all NCAA championships, meetings and conferences will proceed as scheduled. The NCAA has also put together a coronavirus resource page.
