Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference cancels fall sports after earlier delay
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first delayed and now canceled all “mandated” fall sports competitions at its NCAA Division II schools, unless a number of teams still want to participate.
The decision impacts football, cross country, soccer, women’s volleyball and field hockey.
If six or more schools commit to competing in any of those sports, “the conference will reinstate a championship season,” the PSAC announced Wednesday.
The PSAC in July suspended all conference athletic events and championships through the fall semester over covid-19 concerns. The conference originally planned to shift fall sports to the spring semester if a return to competition was safe.
If the PSAC doesn’t crown a champion, the teams still are allowed to compete individually, the conference said Wednesday.
“The decision to cancel PSAC mandated competition does not preclude individual institutions from participating in countable related athletic activities nor exploring competition outside of the previously mandated schedule,” the PSAC said in a press release.
The decision was made following a majority vote of the conference’s board of directors, which includes the universities’ 18 presidents.
The board also voted to maintain spring sports as scheduled, but the status of winter sports remains in question. A decision regarding basketball, wrestling, swimming and indoor track is expected next week, the PSAC said.
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
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