WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Tribe Athletics) - William & Mary will not compete in any Division I fall sports due to COVID-19.
Director of Athletics Samantha K. Huge sent the following letter:
"William & Mary stands fully in support of the Colonial Athletic Association Football Board of Directors’ decision to postpone conference competition for the fall 2020 football season.
The University also made the difficult decision to postpone competition in all Division I Fall sports including football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and cross-country.
The health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff – and the full campus community that supports them – must be our top priority. W&M Athletics is part of the overall educational mission of the university. Providing an environment that ensures the greatest opportunity for academic instruction to occur for all students is paramount. Thus, the university’s philosophy for the Fall is to radically limit visitors to campus – and that includes visiting athletic teams.
While we are heartbroken for the student-athletes and their families impacted, we have been thoughtful and deliberate in our discussions and decision. It is our hope and intention that if conditions safely permit, sports could be played in the Winter and Spring and we will evaluate the options in the months ahead.”
Also Friday, the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced its Conference’s Board of Directors has voted to suspend conference competition in the Fall of 2020 due to continuing concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The conference expressed a strong commitment to exploring the possibility of conducting a football season during the Spring of 2021, and will continue to analyze this scenario as more information becomes available and conditions continue to evolve.
In expressing an understanding of the uniqueness of the Conference’s composition (12 institutions that compete in other sports in four Division I Conferences), the geographical expansion of the Conference membership and the complexity of an ever-changing situation, the Conference’s Board of Directors also affirmed that the Conference’s policies would permit member institutions the ability to explore the option of pursuing playing an independent football schedule in the Fall of 2020.
“I commend the Board of Directors for their forward thinking and open-mindedness when dealing with the uncertain and complex moment that we find ourselves in,” said CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio. “Each of our institutions is making the best decisions for its campus community, based on a totality of the circumstances analysis.”
For the 2020-21 academic year, institutions will have the ability to manage practice activities for its football student-athletes in a manner that best meets institutional, federal, state and local guidelines, as well as NCAA Rules.
