ERAU athletics postponed in wake of COVID-19 outbreak
College Athletics

Embry-Riddle golfer Megan Hessil chips the ball onto the green during the ERAU Spring Invite tournament on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at Antelope Hills Golf Course in Prescott. The ERAU softball, golf, and track & field teams’ seasons have been put on hold as a part of the Cal Pac’s decision to suspend all athletic operations within the conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Aaron Valdez/Courier, file)

Embry-Riddle golfer Megan Hessil chips the ball onto the green during the ERAU Spring Invite tournament on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at Antelope Hills Golf Course in Prescott. The ERAU softball, golf, and track & field teams’ seasons have been put on hold as a part of the Cal Pac’s decision to suspend all athletic operations within the conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Aaron Valdez/Courier, file)

PRESCOTT — As the coronavirus pandemic continues to flip the world upside down, the Cal Pac Conference Directors Council said in a statement Thursday that its agreed to suspend all athletic operations indefinitely while Yavapai and the ACCAC are still mulling a decision.

EMBRY-RIDDLE

After the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced Thursday morning that it will be canceling all winter championship events, the Cal Pac Conference followed suit soon after. The conference — which includes Embry-Riddle and 14 other colleges from California, Arizona and Nevada — suspended all athletic operations indefinitely as conference leaders will continue to monitor the situation and follow the direction of presidents, institutional boards, national associations and health experts.

“While no cases have been reported on any of our campuses yet, the vast amount of travel in our institutional footprint does put our student-athletes and their peers at risk,” Cal Pac commissioner Don Ott said. “A majority of our membership is adjusting to online courses, and is utilizing the spring break period to manage the close contact of all our students.”

While the Embry-Riddle winter sports teams (men’s basketball, women’s basketball and wrestling) had already finished their seasons, the softball, golf and track & field teams were just midway through their spring seasons before the suspension took effect.

The statement said the Cal Pac will continue to review the status of sport operations during video conference meetings twice a week. Preparations for league postseason championships in golf, softball, and baseball will continue in hopes that the situation improves.

“I definitely think that health and safety is the No. 1 concern for our student-athletes and with [the virus] spreading so rapidly, I don’t think we can take the risk for competition’s sake,” Embry-Riddle athletic director Jamie Long said. “We’re just standing by and seeing what may or may not happen but at least with the Cal Pac, it doesn’t look like, at least within the next couple of weeks, we’ll be having any athletics.”

YAVAPAI

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) released a statement Thursday saying it will be postponing national championship events for the upcoming Division I and Division II men’s and women’s basketball tournaments that were scheduled for April. Division III men’s and women’s basketball championships, which were already underway, will work with an expedited schedule that will conclude on Friday, March 13.

“Due to the concerns surrounding the safety and security of our student-athletes and those involved with Division I and Division II NJCAA championships, we are postponing the tournaments and maintaining a fluid mentality to see these tournaments take place with a tentative start date,” NJCAA President and CEO Christopher Parker said in the statement.

However, the NJCAA is leaving it up to the individual conferences and regions to decide what to do with their own athletic operations. The Yavapai executive leadership team held a meeting Thursday night to determine a plan for their academic and athletic operations, but no update was released as of that night.

Yavapai athletics director Brad Clifford said Maricopa County has suspended all athletic events — which include those of ACCAC members Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Scottsdale and South Mountain. If Yavapai was to continue its current athletic seasons (baseball and softball), it would not compete against the aforementioned schools for the time being.

Maricopa County will have another meeting Monday afternoon to further re-evaluate the issue while Clifford said he will have a conference call with the rest of the ACCAC right after to ultimately decide whether a suspension is the best course of action.

This week, the Yavapai baseball and softball teams were scheduled to play in conference games but were forced to postpone because of weather conditions. On a good note, the NJCAA stated that if a conference decided to forgo the rest of its season and an athlete hasn’t played in 60% of those games, then that athlete will have their eligibility restored.

Aaron Valdez is a sports reporter for The Daily Courier of Prescott News Network. Follow him on Twitter at @Valaaron_94. Email avaldez@prescottaz.com or call 928-445-3333, ext. 2031.


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