SAN BRUNO, California — With the health and safety of student-athletes paramount in all decisions, the West Coast Conference Presidents’ Council will delay the beginning of fall competition in all Conference sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WCC programs will not participate in any competition prior to Sept. 24, 2020.
The welfare of student-athletes is of primary importance in all decisions. Discussions focused on the health and welfare of WCC students, personnel, fans, and local communities. The Conference and its membership understand that providing a safe environment while dealing with this virus has an impact on each of our campus communities as well as our global community.
This decision includes the traditional fall seasons in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Baseball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, women’s rowing, softball and men’s and women’s tennis, which hold their traditional seasons in the spring, will not participate in a fall competition scheduled prior to Sept. 24. The men’s and women’s basketball competition seasons, scheduled to begin Nov. 10, are not impacted by this decision. This does not apply to sports which are not sponsored by the WCC, including the Brigham Young University and University of San Diego football competition seasons.
Institutions are allowed to schedule non-conference contests, as long as those contests are not held prior to Sept. 24 and do not conflict with scheduled conference matches. In-person voluntary and mandatory athletically related activities outside of competition, including training and practices, may be conducted at the institution’s discretion in accordance with NCAA regulations and local health and safety guidelines.
“While difficult, this is a necessary move to ensure we are providing the safest environment for our programs to compete,” said West Coast Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “We have worked on plans for a variety of circumstances and believe, with our actions guided by information and science, this is the responsible decision at this time. We will continue to evaluate our best path moving forward with the health and safety of everyone involved as the guiding principle of our discussions.”
The WCC Presidents’ Council made this decision following extensive review of various contingency plans. The Conference continues to discuss options for fall sports. Any further action will be shared at the appropriate time.
Statement from BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe:
As we make plans for our fall athletic seasons, we appreciate the dialogue and attention the WCC has gone through to review the variety of circumstances at member schools and consider the safety of our student-athletes. We are in the process of working on our fall sports schedules given the parameters provided by the WCC and appreciate the flexibility to schedule non-conference competition with other universities.