Central Valley Conference cancels fall semester sports because of coronavirus concerns
The Central Valley Conference has canceled sports in the fall semester because of the coronavirus pandemic, the conference announced on Friday.
Fresno City College, the largest of 10 CVC member schools, said its affected sports are football, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, wrestling, men’s and women’s cross country, water polo and men’s and women’s basketball.
The CVC sponsors 12 men’s sports and 12 women’s sports and is made up of Clovis, Columbia, Fresno City, Merced, Porterville, Reedley, College of the Sequoias, Taft, West Hills-Coalinga and West Hills-Lemoore.
In a tweet, Sequoias said it’s not part of the CVC plan. The Visalia college will likely petition to play in another league if the California Community Community College Athletic Association gets the green light to play in the fall.
The CCCAA will make a determination on July 17 about when to start up sports for the 2020-21 academic year while being directed by health guidelines from the state.
But the CVC went ahead and made a decision for its immediate future.
“The COVID-19 virus has impacted all aspects of our life,” Fresno City President Carole Goldsmith said. “We continue to work with faculty, staff and county public health officials in an effort to support opportunities for our coaches and students to continue focusing on conditioning and academics.”
Fall student-athletes will retain their year of eligibility.
CVC commissioner Susan Yates said it’s possible sports in the fall semester could be played in the spring semester, including football, based on what the CCCAA says in July.
“There is still going to be meetings, training online, weight training,” Yates said. “But there will be no competition in the fall due to the coronavirus for the health and safety for everyone.”
There are plans to move men’s and women’s basketball to the spring semester with a reduced schedule, and the spring 2021 athletic season is still on.
But in a statement, Reedley College said it’s “very highly unlikely” that traditional fall sports such as football will be shifted to the spring.
“I want everyone to know that I have spent many hours speaking with people regarding this decision, looking at current data and information, while always holding the safety of our student athletes and our employees at the forefront of my analysis. This decision was not made lightly, and I want to reaffirm my support for our athletic programs here at Reedley College ... we will be back in competition as soon as we can do so safely,” Reedley President Jerry L. Buckley said in a statement.
In a statement, the Central Valley Conference said a majority of its members have concerns about their ability to adequately protect staff and student-athletes from the coronavirus.
“Colleges in the CVC wishing to compete may request to be hosted by another California community college athletic conference,” the conference said.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 4:55 PM.
