NCAC suspends competition through Dec. 31

On Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that he would be signing an order Thursday initiating a mask mandate for the entire state beginning July 27.

Later on in the day, Wabash College and DePauw University and its North Coast Athletic Conference partners sent out press releases stating all sports would be suspended for the remainder of the calendar year.

Shortly after, the NCAC issued its own statement confirming the news and ending the fall seasons of several former Clay City and Northview student-athletes.

"Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present evolving challenges to our campuses and communities, the North Coast Athletic Conference Presidents' Council has, after extended consideration of the new NCAA guidance, and with tremendous regret, further suspended all intercollegiate competition through December 31, 2020.

"An athletics experience at all NCAC institutions is valuable to fulfilling our educational and developmental missions, and we recognize that this new decision is deeply disappointing to our student-athletes, coaches, and really, to every single one of us," said Keri Alexander Luchowski, NCAC Executive Director. "We worked hard for months to create safe ways for students to compete this fall, knowing how much this means to our students and to our campuses, and that work was the foundation of the announcement we made on July 9th regarding conference competition. However, the health and safety of our campuses and communities must be our highest priority. Sadly, the continued increase in the pandemic in many areas means that we cannot safely proceed with the conference competition we had planned for."

The NCAC will continue to explore all options for a safe return to intercollegiate competition this spring. At the same time, the Conference is committed to providing an engaging and meaningful experience for student-athletes, which will include practice, skill development, strength & conditioning, leadership and professional development opportunities. We will also call on our campus and conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committees and our coaches to develop non-conventional ways for our student-athletes to engage in competitive opportunities this fall."