Wittenberg University, along with the members of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), have worked diligently over the past two months to devise a safe and responsible return to campus and more specifically a return to sport plan for the 2020 fall athletic season.
NCAC 2020 Fall Update
"In recognition of the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Presidents’ Council has approved the following principles, which will guide fall competition for NCAC members.
- NCAC members will commit to consistent baseline health & safety protocols, as determined by public health professionals and institutional medical professionals;
- NCAC members will commit to follow the NCAC adopted phased-in approach to athletic participation and gatherings, or the local, state or federal guidance, whichever is more restrictive.
- NCAC members will play conference-only schedules, based on geographical groupings that eliminate overnight travel;
- NCAC members will adopt Friday, Sept. 18 as the first permissible contest date;
- NCAC members recognize and respect the institutional autonomy to make more restrictive decisions on competition for their respective campuses. Each campus is developing its own reopening plan; and,
- NCAC members recognize that our plans are fluid and subject to change as conditions evolve in order to responsibly protect our communities. Decisions for the winter and spring championships seasons will be made in early fall.
- The fall sports impacted by this decision include men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball.
This framework enabling our commitment is the result of the efforts of a conference-wide COVID steering committee, as well as working groups, made up of NCAC academic leaders, administrators, faculty representatives, health care professionals, legal counsel and coaches that have been meeting since this past spring. This work has resulted in truly collaborative strategies, best practices and risk mitigation guidelines for the upcoming academic year.
Even though athletics may look different this coming fall, the NCAC is committed to building an academic and athletic experience for our student-athletes that is as safe and robust as possible."
The NCAC will review the above plan as we move throughout the fall season. Should new guidance become available or conditions change due to virus transmission, more restrictive institutional decisions, etc., the conference reserves the right to revisit the procedures as needed. Additionally, the procedures will be reviewed and separate decisions will be made in advance of the winter and spring championships seasons.
At Wittenberg, our current resocialization of sport plan breaks up the typical preseason into three separate 14-day phases, with Phase 1 set to begin on Friday, August 7th, and ultimately culminating with the goal to begin fall competition the weekend of September 18-20. More details on the actual playing schedules for each sport will be posted on both the Wittenberg Athletics and NCAC Websites in the coming weeks.
As we have been throughout the pandemic, our decisions are guided by our commitment to the health and safety of our community and to fulfill the mission and values of Wittenberg University and our athletic department.
Information is changing regularly. We are monitoring that information and following the guidance of the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as consulting with our own internal team of health experts and our local Clark County Health District. All plans are subject to change if the course of the virus necessitates a change and we have a talented and dedicated campus working group and athletic department team who we have tremendous confidence in to lead us through these times.
When we do return to campus, we will expect everyone to make decisions in the interests of protecting our community. We will wear masks, monitor symptoms and practice good hygiene. We are all in this together and must pledge ourselves to be committed to ensuring the health and safety of everyone.
All Wittenberg University fall sport student-athletes will receive a more detailed email from the Athletic Department about the specific plans by the end of the day on July 9th, while more information regarding the University's overall response to COVID-19, including the Athletics plan, are also available at the following website: https://www.wittenberg.edu/together.