Decision looms for sports after CSUs opt for virtual fall, university presidents say
California State University Chancellor Timothy White said on Tuesday that the system’s campuses would not reopen in the fall and that classes would continue to be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with limited exceptions.
What exactly does that mean for a 2020 football season at Fresno State, and an athletics department that relies heavily on football-related revenue?
If a harbinger, it’s not good.
But the Mountain West Conference and presidents from its three members in the CSU system released a statement through the league on Tuesday that no decisions on a football season or any other fall sports have been made at this point.
“Certainly, all conversations are led by academics, as well as public health and safety,” they said, in the statement. “Within that framework, more determinations are necessary. All three institutions will work closely with the Mountain West. No decisions on athletics have been made.”
The statement was signed by Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, San Diego State President Adela de la Torre, San Jose State President Mary Papazian and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson.
Fresno State athletics director Terry Tumey also released a statement Tuesday evening: “Within the framework presented by the California State University Chancellor’s office, and in collaboration with our university leadership, Fresno State athletics continues to evaluate all opportunities related to the resumption of athletics in advance of the fall 2020 competitive seasons,” he said.
“Our university president, Dr. Joseph Castro, had previously announced the formation of a Fall 2020 Planning Task Force which is continuing to thoroughly analyze multiple alternative scenarios related to the fall 2020 semester, including the resumption of athletic activities. The task force is expected to make an announcement regarding instruction for the fall 2020 term as we move forward.
“Until then, we continue to operate the Department of Athletics and prepare for the upcoming competitive seasons in a manner consistent with our University’s mission to boldly educate and empower students for success.”
Fresno State in a separate statement following the CSU announcement that it was closing campuses to in-person classes in the fall said that its Fall 2020 Planning Task Force was evaluating operational needs on campus, including athletics. It will forward recommendations to Castro by May 22, and an announcement about the fall semester will be made in June.
But without students on campus, it would be difficult to proceed with football and other fall sports including women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country.
“The campus will have all the say,” Thompson said in an April 21 interview posted on the conference’s network.
“Unless they’re in full mode, with dormitories and housing and all the other facilities are open, we won’t have college athletics. We will not have college athletics until the campuses are open.”
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 7:26 PM.