COLUMBIA, Mo. _ The Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday that it's postponing the start of its volleyball, soccer and cross country seasons through at least Aug. 31. The decision was made to provide additional time ahead of sports schedules that are likely to be adjusted further because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the status of this year's college football season has generated more headlines, other Missouri fall sports are also grappling with the realities of the pandemic. MU soccer coach Bryan Blitz said his Tigers have already absorbed a blow in the form of a canceled California road trip.
"Our leadership has had to make very difficult decisions in regards to the 2020 season," Blitz said in a statement. "While this has been an ever-evolving situation, our top priority has always been the safety of our student-athletes and our community. We will continue to move forward and prepare for our return to competition."
The SEC postponement includes all exhibition and non-conference games for each school. Decisions about how, and if, they will be rescheduled will be left up to each conference school.
Missouri volleyball coach Joshua Taylor told The Star in late May that his team usually starts two-a-day practices in mid-August. Taylor also said it was difficult to gauge the fitness level of each student-athlete because spring workouts were washed away.
"The safety of our student-athletes and coaching staff is the number one priority," Taylor said in a statement. "These decisions are in the best interest of everyone involved. We will continue to adjust our preparation and training for the 2020 season and will be ready to go when the opportunity arises."
The SEC's athletic directors and other conference and school officials met in person Monday to discuss how to proceed this fall. The Big Ten had already announced a conference-only schedule, should football even be played in the fall.
The SEC didn't make any concrete decisions about football on Monday. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said conference officials will likely wait until late July before they make any such determination.
Disallowing non-conference games would make for a tricky situation for some SEC member schools, including MU: Missouri has already signed contracts with its non-conference football opponents.
"It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis," Sankey said in a statement. "In the coming weeks we will continue to meet regularly with campus leaders via videoconferences and gather relevant information while guided by medical advisors.
"We believe that late July will provide the best clarity for making the important decisions ahead of us."
