Pac-12 cancels all sports for remainder of academic year; GNAC sports suspended...
This decision follows both the Pac-12’s earlier decision to suspend all sports until further notice, and the decision by the NCAA to cancel the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 NCAA basketball tournaments as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships.
In addition, the Pac-12 Conference has made the decision to prohibit all organized team athletically-related activities until at least March 29, at which time it will revisit this decision.
For track & field, that means the Pac-12 championships, scheduled for May 16-17 at Historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene (multi-events the weekend before at Oregon State in Corvallis), is cancelled, as are all regularly scheduled meets for both the University of Washington and Washington State University.
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced that all remaining spring sports competition has been suspended beginning Friday, March 13. That decision was voted on by the GNAC CEO Board and Presidents and effects regular-season Softball and Baseball games, and championships for Softball, men's and women's golf, women's rowing and outdoor track & field.
The Big Sky Conference also suspended spring sports as well, while Gonzaga University cancelled all spring sports (the West Coast Conference doesn't sponsor track & field).
Friday, the NCAA instituted a dead period for in-person recruiting through at least April 15th.
The NCAA also advised schools to suspend any official and unofficial on-campus visits to campus from prospective student-athletes. Contact between coaches and prospective student-athletes is still allowed through phone calls, text messages and written correspondence. These recruiting restrictions are in effect for all of Division I across every sport.
The NCAA announced that it will begin the process of providing eligibility relief to spring athletes whose seasons are being affected by the cancellation that came down on Thursday.
"Council leadership agreed that eligibility relief is appropriate for all Division I student-athletes who participated in spring sports," the NCAA said in a statement. "Details of eligibility relief will be finalized at a later time. Additional issues with NCAA rules must be addressed, and appropriate governance bodies will work through those in the coming days and weeks."
The COVID-19 public health threat has also affected the Nike Prefontaine Classic, scheduled for June 6-7 in Eugene at Historic Hayward Field.
Ticket sales for the Pre Classic were supposed to go on sale late this week, but meet director Tom Jordan made the decision to suspend sales.
“There are so many unknowns at present we thought it best to delay the sale until the situation is clarified,” said Jordan.
COVID-19 concerns have also put meets for post-collegiate athletes in limbo, as some of those athletes were looking forward to competing in some of the big collegiate meets that allowed pros, such at the Texas Relays, Stanford Invitational, and the Mike Fanelli Track Classic.
All of those meets are cancelled, as is the Mt. SAC Relays, though the Mt. SAC organizers left open the possibility of hosting an elite section, without fans in attendance, so that athletes can chase Olympic Trials and Olympic Games qualifying marks.
NOTE: The Pac-12, Great Northwest Athletic Conference, NCAA, the Nike Prefontaine Classic, and the Mt. SAC Relays contributed to this report.
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