SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Summit League) -  The Summit League President's Council voted unanimously late Monday afternoon to postpone the regular season and championships for the fall sports of men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer and volleyball to the spring of 2021. The health, safety and welfare of the league's student-athletes, coaches and staffs were at the forefront of this decision.

"This is an outcome that no one wanted to see, however, it was necessary based upon all the information that we have collected and discussed during the current pandemic," Dr. Jeffrey Gold, Chancellor at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Chair of The Summit League President's Council said. "This decision was made even more difficult because we know how much these student-athletes and coaches invest in the sports they love, and we certainly empathize with them." 

As with the previously announced delay, this decision only affects fall sports and does not have any impact on winter or spring sports.

"This was yet another tough decision that I never thought this group would have to make," Summit League Commissioner Tom Douple said. "Our staff and membership have worked extremely hard over the past few months to try and create a safe environment for our student-athletes to have meaningful competition this fall.

"Unfortunately, the current pandemic and its continued and far-reaching impact on our society made that unrealistic. Our goal now is to provide these fall sport student-athletes with great regular season and Championship experiences this spring."   

Summit League officials have begun creating potential spring schedule models for the affected sports and those will be finalized at a later date.

Training and practice opportunities for the affected sports will be based upon NCAA regulations and local health and safety guidelines.

University of Denver Vice Chancellor for Athletics, Recreation and Ritchie Center Operations Karlton Creech Statement:
"The health and safety of our students and the DU community as a whole is our top priority. There's nothing we would love more than to see our programs back in competition, but I believe the decision by the Summit League and its member institutions' leaders is in the best interest of our student-athletes' long term future. This unprecedented time is difficult now, but I'm confident it will bring us all closer as we get through this together."