Hello Cougar Nation!
As all of us engage in the work of assuring the health and well-being of our families, friends and neighbors, as well as carefully monitoring information to stay ahead of the coronavirus, I felt it important to reach out to Cougar Nation with an update as well as a message of hope. The dramatic series of events surrounding the expansion of the virus across the globe — and in our communities — has made us all pause and reflect on the order of priorities in our lives.
We now rely on all areas of our preparations prior to the outbreak to help us respond in positive and productive ways, as we chart new courses moving forward to deal with the challenges and opportunities ahead. My prayers are with all of you that you will be safe from harm’s way and be able and willing to assist in the much-needed planning for our immediate and future recovery.
The past few days I have had the incredible experience of communicating with BYU’s coaches and athletic staff and many of our amazing student-athletes. The vast majority of them are well. They are resilient and able to adapt to the changes around them. They are already looking ahead to resuming where they left off on the road to achieving their longtime goals and dreams.
Their initial sadness at the news of the abrupt stoppage of their seasons subsided quickly as they learned of the benefits of their sacrifice for the betterment and safety of our communities. “Social Distancing” to “Flatten the Curve” became their new reality — at least for their immediate futures. Brigham Young University encouraged all students to consider returning to their homes as a precaution to stem the spread of the virus in our campus community.
All BYU students will complete the winter semester remotely and await further instruction from the Church Educational System and Board of Trustees on when to return to classes on campus.
As you can imagine, the ever-changing landscape presents unique challenges and concerns for some of our student-athletes. For these individuals, we are prepared to provide every resource available to assist them as they navigate through the uncertainty of the immediate future. The wonder of modern technology allows us the opportunity to stay connected while apart and still continue to strengthen relationships.
Our coaches are eager to continue mentoring their student-athletes in this transition period. It’s been heartwarming for me to see the love and compassion these coaches have for their athletes. It’s wonderful to see how much these athletes and coaches want to be there for each other. They have learned valuable lessons and gained hard-to-match experiences battling together as teammates prior to this present challenge. Their faith is strong and their hope for the future is bright.
There has been much discussion about “making things right” for those athletes who were not able to complete their season, this includes the NCAA announcing it would grant eligibility relief for student-athletes who participated in spring sports… and review similar opportunities for those who competed in winter sports who were unable to participate in conference or NCAA championships. In the coming weeks we will learn more about these possibilities and share them with you as we can.
BYU Athletics is prepared to make good on the tickets that were purchased to home events that have been canceled. If you’ve purchased tickets for canceled events you’ll be receiving additional information directly.
Together with BYU Broadcasting, our athletic staff is working to make BYUtv’s Sports Nation a great source of information of stories and conversation surrounding this unprecedented time in BYU Athletics history. We’ll also do our best to communicate with Cougar Nation through BYUcougars.com and our various social media channels.
We fully understand that for some BYU Cougar fans this might not be the right time and place for sports in their day-to-day lives. We also realize the connection with our teams, coaches and athletes might be exactly what others need.
There will be a day in the future when the games will start up again. Between now and then — peace be with you! When the games do resume, we will do all we can to have our teams ready to give their all for BYU. During this unprecedented break, I will miss seeing many of you at the games cheering on the Cougs.
As I told our athletes, coaches and staff, take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Take care of your neighbors. Be loyal, strong and true. That’s what you are!
Go Cougs!