Fate of OUA athletic seasons to be decided ‘sometime in May’
Universities moving to online classes could spell trouble for upcoming fall athletic seasons
The governing body of university sport in Ontario is waiting for word from member institutions before announcing a decision on the fate of athletic seasons for the 2020-21 academic year.
Ontario University Athletics president and chief executive officer Gord Grace said a final decision will be made “sometime in May.” The overriding factor, he said Tuesday, will be whether students return to campus for the fall term as opposed to taking courses online.
“If students aren’t on campus … then why would student athletes be allowed on campus?” said Grace.
“And something a little more pragmatic is that if students aren’t on campus, they may not be paying their sport and recreation fees which fund our varsity sports. So, there are financial ramifications, as well as health ramifications, if decisions are made to not be on campus.”
The University of Montreal and McGill University announced Monday they would move most of their courses online for the fall term in order to allow physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the University of British Columbia said it would split between online and inperson instruction this fall and Carleton University said in a report released Monday that staff and students should “intensively prepare for the likelihood that courses and programs for Fall 2020 will be delivered online.” The University of Ottawa said the majority of its classes would include a distance-learning option.
U SPORTS communications director John Bower said the national governing athletic body is working with its universities, four conferences, sports stakeholders and public health officials to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation as it develops its plans for the 2020-21 season.
“All decisions for the upcoming season will take into consideration the curriculum delivery models implemented at member institutions as well as public health and security in sport policies across the country,” he said.
Carleton and Ottawa are the first OUA member schools to make their online move official and others could follow suit as early as this week. In total, 20 institutions compete in 23 OUA sports, including men’s and women’s teams at the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.
Neither local university has yet to announce concrete plans for its fall semesters, but Wilfrid Laurier spokesperson Kevin Crowley said the school is actively working on the file.
“Wilfrid Laurier University is in the midst of planning for a range of possible scenarios that could be implemented for the fall term, which will begin as scheduled. We are focusing on all aspects of university life, from how to deliver classes to residence operations and the wraparound supports that students will need to be successful — financial aid, academic advising, mental health programs, and others.” University of Waterloo spokesperson Matthew Grant said the university has yet to finalize its plans for the fall semester but will be announcing its protocols shortly.
As for players, the uncertainty has made planning for the upcoming season a mental battle as much as a physical one.
Ali Sow hasn’t been on a basketball court in months.
Instead, his university house in Waterloo has been turned into an ad hoc workout facility, with ball-handling drills his only connection to the sport he’s dominated the last three seasons at Laurier.
“You’re stuck inside, you can’t do anything about it, and everything is out of your hands,” he said. “As of right now, everything is kind of up in the air about what’s going to happen next year, so it’s really a mental battle right now.”
His name is already enshrined in the Wilfrid Laurier record books, but the standout guard from Ottawa has his sights set on one final legacy for his last university season: a national championship.
But with COVID-19 temporarily putting the sports world on hold, Sow’s last kick at the can could be in jeopardy.
“It’s definitely tough,” said Sow, who earned OUA men’s basketball second-team all-star honours last season. “You have questions about the future, where it’s going to go from here, and whether next season is even playable or not. But I just take it a day at a time, and just try and stay as ready as possible with all the uncertainty.”
A certain number of universities would need to participate to make staging a league feasible, said Grace. As well, he added, OUA officials have already decided on reduced schedules for fall leagues but said those plans would remain under wraps until a formal announcement is made.
“Already our schools are facing a financial impact so, no matter what, we will have less programming next year, it’s just the way it is,” he said. “And when I say less programming, I mean less games. We know some things right now but there are things that need to be decided on campus.
“Of course, our athletic departments, they’re part of a bigger ecosystem, they’re part of the campus, so campuses need to make their decisions and then that flows down to the athletic departments.”
The OUA football season was expected to be first out of the gate this fall with 10 schools competing on Aug. 30. The schedule was released in January and has since been removed from the OUA website.