DANVILLE, Va. — With the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and athletics staffs as their priority, the presidents of the USA South Athletic Conference voted unanimously to postpone all fall sport conference competition until the spring 2021 semester, the league announced Tuesday.

The sports impacted by the decision are football, men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's cross country and women's cross country. This decision to postpone — not cancel— fall sports until the spring was made in light of several factors, including the recent rise in positive COVID-19 cases throughout the USA South's geographical footprint. Other major factors include the availability, cost and feasibility of adequate and consistent testing for student-athletes.

"We know this announcement is disappointing news to our fall student-athletes, their families, our fans and our campus community," Averett University President Dr. Tiffany M. Franks said. "This was a difficult decision and we share in your disappointment. However, protecting the health and safety of our student-athletes and Department of Athletics is the top priority."

Although conference-sponsored competitions are postponed until spring, fall sports at Averett will still be allowed to train, practice and hold intrasqaud scrimmages on campus with the possibility for outside competition during the fall semester while doing so in a safe setting.

"Athletics is a valuable piece to our student-athletes' educational experience at Averett and we are committed to providing the best experience for our student-athletes that is as safe and robust as possible during these unprecedented times," Averett Director of Athletics Meg Stevens said. "We will utilize this semester to train and develop our student-athletes and teams in a competitive environment, as well as continue to prioritize academics and professional development opportunities to provide an all-encompassing education."

For more information on how the decision impacts Averett athletics, please read our "Frequently Asked Questions" section below.

USA South Commissioner Dr. Tom Hart cited the NCAA Sports Science Institute's updated "Resocialization of College Sport" guidelines from July 16 as a large factor in the decision by the conference.

"While our member institutions maintain the freedom to address athletics as they see best on their individual campuses this fall, the NCAA recommendations especially related to testing that came out recently were a real game changer for our 18 conference schools collectively," Hart said. "We will begin work immediately to develop a strategic plan that allows for fall conference sports competition to return in some capacity in the spring provided public health conditions improve in the coming months."

Dr. James Mellichamp, Piedmont College president and chair of the USA South Presidents Council, said providing safe opportunities for student-athletes has always been a hallmark of the conference. 

"The global pandemic has currently hindered our conference, along with a vast majority of Division III conferences, to carry out that intention this fall," Mellichamp said. "Until we can ensure safe conditions for student-athletes, coaches and staff to travel and compete on a variety of campuses, each institution will need to focus its efforts on maximizing the opportunity to develop best-practices — related not only to collegiate athletics but also academics — within the constraints of local and state guidelines."

Any further announcements from the USA South regarding the 2020-21 academic season will be shared on USASouth.net and on AverettCougars.com.

 
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (Information updated as of July 28, 2020)

WHAT WERE THE REASONS BEHIND THE DECISION TO POSTPONE FALL SPORTS? 
The USA South and its member institutions were committed to playing fall sports based on the initial NCAA Sport Science Institute's "Resocialization of College Sport" guidelines. The current public health data is not where the NCAA Sports Science Institute anticipated it would be for the start of the 2020 fall semester. In an updated version of resocialization guidelines published on July 16, new recommendations directly reference testing, which wasn't part of the initial set of guidelines. You can view the full "Resocialization of College Sport: Developing Standards for Practice and Competition" here.   

WILL FALL SPORTS BE ABLE TO COMPETE DURING THE SPRING SEMESTER? 
It is the intention of the USA South to formulate plans to play as many contests as feasible for the sports mentioned above within the spring semester and conduct championship competition. To assist with this goal, the NCAA recently approved a waiver that provides institutions with flexibility in their sport seasons during 2020-21. This waiver allows schools to count their playing seasons in 114 days instead of a specified number of consecutive weeks. Any hopes of spring participation continue to depend on improvements of external factors related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

IS THERE STILL AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE OR PLAY CONTESTS ON A FALL SPORTS TEAM DURING THE FALL SEMESTER? 
Yes. The NCAA recently passed a waiver that will allow for all student-athletes in all sports to practice and/or participate in outside competition. Per that NCAA ruling, these decisions shall be made on an institution-by-institution basis. Any games played against outside competition during the fall semester will not be scheduled by the USA South and will not be considered "conference" contests. The USA South has strictly postponed conference competition and championships for fall sports teams until the spring semester. Averett is using recommendations from the NCAA's resocialization plan as well guidelines from the local, state and federal government to create its own resocialization and return-to-play policies for the fall semester. Averett is committed to providing the best athletics experience for its student-athletes through practices, gatherings and intrasquad scrimmages in a safe and productive environment. 

WILL NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR DIVISION III FALL SPORTS BE CONDUCTED?
The NCAA Board of Governors is currently considering this matter. In a letter to the NCAA BOG, the NCAA Division III Management Council recommended that fall championships be cancelled.

HOW DOES THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AFFECT WINTER SPORTS? 
Basketball and wrestling will be able to start practice Oct. 1 under Averett's resocialization and return-to-play policies for the fall semester. The postponing of fall sports by the USA South does not currently impact winter sports such as men's and women's basketball — or men's wrestling, which isn't sponsored in the USA South. Averett, the USA South and the NCAA will continue to monitor the public health data throughout the fall.  

HOW DOES THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AFFECT SPRING SPORTS? 
Spring sports programs typically participate in non-traditional practice seasons and competitions. Decisions regarding non-traditional season will be decided by Averett using its resocialization and return-to-play policies for the fall semester. Averett is committed to providing the best athletics experience this fall for its spring student-athletes in a safe and productive environment.

WHEN WILL DECISIONS BE MADE REGARDING SPRING COMPETITIONS?  
The USA South's announcement specifically applies to conference competition during the fall semester for fall sports. Averett, the USA South and the NCAA will continue to monitor the public health data throughout the fall while planning for its spring sports seasons and championships.  

HOW WILL THIS AFFECT MY NCAA ELIGIBILITY?   
For Division III student-athletes, participation in workouts, practices and meetings in their usual season window during the fall semester will not trigger the use of a season of participation. Additionally, on July 9 the NCAA issued a blanket waiver that states that Division III student-athletes will not be charged with a season of participation for the 2020-21 season if their team completes 50-percent or less of the sport's maximum contests/dates of competition due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA also issued a blanket statement stating that a student-athlete will receive a two-semester extension of eligibility (toward their 10-semester total) if they are unable to participate due to COVID-19 or if their team completes 50 percent or less of that sport's maximum contests/dates of competition.

WHAT IS AVERETT'S RESOCIALIZATION AND RETURN-TO-PLAY PROTOCOL?  
The Averett experience is a valued one, and while we know that Fall 2020 will be different for us all as we work through health and safety precautions, we remain committed to providing a memorable on-campus experience. Averett will implement a phased, on-campus reopening for its Fall 2020 semester. We are confident in our plans for a safe and enriching semester with the help of each person on campus.

• View Averett's comprehensive "One Averett, Together Again" plan
• View the Averett Athletics Resocialization Plan (Fall 2020)
• View the Averett Athletics COVID-19 Health & Safety Guidelines