UNOH Postpones Fall Sports to Spring 2021

This week, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) voted to move all national championships for fall sports to spring 2021, allowing all NAIA conferences to make their own determination about competing this fall.

The Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) released the following statement about the 2020 fall athletic season:

In the tradition of providing a positive student athlete experience through competition, which includes practice, scrimmages and contests; while recognizing institutional autonomy as the issues faced by our members during this time are different campus to campus based on geographical location and institutional structures, the WHAC presidents voted to:

Continue engaging our student athlete by:

1.Moving championship events in Women’s Volleyball, Men and Women’s Soccer and Men and Women’s Cross Country to the spring. Dates to be determined at a later time.

2 Providing a competitive schedule for members in these sports based on their institutional choices.

“Over this time period, the WHAC Presidents have truly worked together to understand what each member is going through and always kept the importance to engage are student athletes at the highest level of care at the forefront,” stated commissioner, Rob Miller.

WHAC University presidents discussed all possible options available for fall collegiate athletics. While the WHAC decided to move all fall conference championships to the spring of 2021, and is allowing schools to operate a split season of play, the University of Northwestern Ohio, with the full support of the Board of Trustees, has decided to postpone the competitive season for all fall sports to the spring of 2021. At UNOH, fall sports include Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, and Men’s and Women’s Golf.

The priority at UNOH is to be able to still provide some type of athletic experience for our fall student-athletes even though their competitive season has been delayed until spring 2021. Athletic training, practice, and inter-squad play is important for both the physical and mental health of all UNOH student-athletes. By implementing safety protocols in accordance with local and state guidelines, the UNOH Athletic Department is committed to give all student-athletes a fulfilling athletic experience on campus, even if the competitive season has shifted.

While this decision was a difficult one, it was made with the safety of student athletes, athletic staff, and the greater campus community in mind.