For the second straight year, the Ivy League will not hold a spring sports conference season, the school presidents announced Thursday.
Ivy League presidents wrote in a joint statement that they decided to cancel the spring seasons to be consistent with the schools’ measures to protect everyone on campus.
“The public health measures now in effect at all Ivy League universities have been carefully designed to support our teaching and research missions while keeping our students, faculty, staff and neighboring communities safe,” the presidents said. “In the Ivy League, these measures must apply equally to our athletics programs along with other academic and co-curricular activities.”
While there won’t be any league competitions or championships, the presidents would allow the eight schools to participate in nonconference games that are within 40 miles if the coronavirus pandemic greatly improves.
There are five phases the league has set and schools would have to meet the standards to be eligible to compete. How schools progress through those phases are determined by campus and state health policies.
No school has reached the third phase yet. Most of the eight schools don’t even have all their spring athletes on campus.
“As campus and community leaders, we believe that our public health responsibilities and educational principles preclude us from sponsoring Ivy League athletics competition this spring,” the presidents wrote. “We regret the many sacrifices that have been required in response to the pandemic, and we appreciate the resilience of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in the face of adversity during this difficult and unusual year.”
This is the fourth straight season of sports that the Ivy League has canceled because of COVID-19. Spring athletes have now missed two consecutive years of competition. The Ivy League, just like the winter season, is the only Division I conference not offering spring sports, according to the NCAA.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FORDHAM: A major uptick of COVID cases on the school’s campus has caused the university to pause the entire athletic department for two weeks.
That’s not sitting well with the women’s basketball team, which has not had any positive tests. Members of the team have taken more 1,400 COVID tests since they came on campus in the fall.
“It’s frustrating, as we test three times a week and we’ve been zero for six months,” said team captain Kaitlyn Downey, a junior forward. “Staying that negative for that long with 25-plus people in our program is a stellar statistic to ride by. ”
The Rams are 11-3 overall and in second place in the Atlantic 10 with an 8-2 conference record. Anna DeWolfe, a sophomore from Cumberland, leads the team in scoring at 22.1 points per game.
“It’s been a really emotional last three days. There have been a lot of tears and a lot of questions,” Fordham Coach Stephanie Gaitley said.
(21) TENNESSEE 75, (2) SOUTH CAROLINA 67: Rennia Davis scored all 24 of her points in the second half, and the Vols (13-5, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) ended a 31-game conference winning streak for the visiting Gamecocks (17-3, 12-1).
(3) LOUISVILLE 82, PITTSBURGH 58: Dana Evans matched her career high with 29 points and extended her Atlantic Coast Conference scoring lead, helping the Cardinals (20-1, 13-1 ACC) beat the Panthers (5-10, 3-8) in Pittsburgh.
(4) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 66, WAKE FOREST 47: Jakia Brown-Turner scored 21 points and the Wolfpack (14-2, 9-2 Atlantic Coast) beat the Demon Deacons (11-9, 8-8) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
(14) INDIANA 70, (11) MICHIGAN 65: Ali Patberg scored 21 points, including the only field goal by either team in the last 3 1/2 minutes, and Mackenzie Holmes of Gorham had a key steal and defensive rebound to help the Hoosiers (14-4, 12-2 Big Ten) hold off the Wolverines (12-2, 8-2) in Bloomington, Indiana.
Holmes was limited to six points, 12 below her average.
(15) OHIO STATE 100, PURDUE 85: Dorka Juhasz had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Jacy Sheldon added 19 points and seven assists, and the Buckeyes (13-3, 9-3 Big Ten) send the visiting Boilermakers (6-12, 3-11) to their sixth straight loss.
BYU 61, (16) GONZAGA 56: Shaylee Gonzales scored 16 points, Paisley Harding got the last four points to clinch the victory and BYU (15-3, 11-2 West Coast Conference) ended a 17-game winning streak for visiting Gonzaga (18-3, 13-1).
MEN’S BASKETBALL
WICHITA STATE 68, (6) HOUSTON 63: Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points as the Shockers (13-4, 9-2 American Athletic) moved past the visiting Cougars (17-3, 11-3) for first place in the conference standings.
(11) IOWA 77, (21) WISCONSIN 62: Luka Garza scored 30 points, and the Hawkeyes (16-6, 10-5 Big Ten) pulled away from the Badgers (15-8, 9-7) in Madison, Wisconsin.
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