SAN BRUNO, Calif. – With the health and safety of student-athletes and everyone connected with the West Coast Conference guiding all discussions, the WCC has postponed all conference fall competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The number one priority is the safety of our student-athletes," BYU head cross country coach Ed Eyestone said. "I know the WCC has done a lot of work and research to come to this conclusion and we honor that decision. With our cross country runners, they train year-round for the opportunity to race so their day-to-day training won’t change significantly. We are hopeful that the pandemic will lessen to the extent we can return to the national championships in the winter semester. We look forward to defending our national championship at the next given opportunity."
"I am heartbroken for all the student-athletes whose seasons have been affected and continue to be affected by this pandemic," BYU women's cross country coach Diljeet Taylor said. "We have been excited to showcase the hard work and sacrifice of our current athletes along with our talented incoming class. BYU women’s distance is a sisterhood and we will lean on each other as we navigate this ongoing situation together. I am confident that my women will continue to train hard with goals of future success in mind. I have no doubt we will get the opportunity to chase our dreams again. These are trying times, but we believe the comeback is always greater than the setback. We look forward to reppin’ the Y soon."
The WCC Presidents’ Council, in consultation with the Conference’s 10 athletic directors and Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, made this decision following thorough discussion over the course of several weeks.
“The welfare of the great student-athletes of the West Coast Conference is and always will be the guiding principle in our discussions and why we ultimately arrived at this difficult decision,” said University of San Diego President James T. Harris, the chair of the WCC Presidents’ Council. “The fall term for everyone associated with our member institutions will be different. We understand this and will continue to plan for a safe return to campus and a safe return to athletic competition in the WCC at the appropriate time.”
The WCC remains fully committed and continues to work closely with campus leadership on plans to ensure a safe environment to conduct the 2020-21 WCC men’s and women’s basketball seasons in the winter. The Conference intends to explore various models for conducting WCC competition in the fall sports of men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball in the spring of 2021. The WCC strongly supports efforts to encourage the National Collegiate Athletic Association to conduct fall NCAA championships in the spring.
The postponement of WCC fall sports seasons and championships does not preclude member institutions from scheduling non-conference competitions in low risk sports in the fall.
“We empathize with our student-athletes,” said Nevarez. “This is a difficult decision, but it is the responsible decision based on the available information associated with conducting competition in the current environment. WCC programs compete for national titles and we never want to take these opportunities away. However, health and safety will always be paramount in guiding our decisions. We must ensure our student-athletes have a safe environment to compete and meet the NCAA’s guidelines for Resocialization of Collegiate Sport, along with current federal, state and local health and safety measures in place at each member institution. We are committed to providing the safeguards to conduct a men’s and women’s basketball season this winter. We want to get back to celebrating the tremendous achievements of our programs as soon as we can, but we must first ensure we can compete in a safe manner.”
Discussions involving various scheduling models, gameday safety protocols and a timeline for WCC competition are ongoing and will be shared at the appropriate time.