West Chester’s Zwaan saddened but not surprised at PSAC fall suspension
Bill Zwaan has been through some tough times in his 23 years as a head football coach, the last 17 at West Chester University.
Nothing he’s been through, though, could have prepared him for the Zoom meeting he had Wednesday morning where he informed players that there would be no season in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re always trying to be positive when we talk to the kids because when you looked on that Zoom call and looked at their faces and their eyes, you know how much it was affecting them,” Zwann said by phone shortly after the meeting. “They had a feeling that something was happening with the announcement last week that we’re not coming back to school, we’re doing virtual. That kind of set the tone for what’s happening.”
Reports began to swirl Tuesday night that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) would suspend the fall season for all sports. Those rumors became official when the conference made the announcement official at 9 o’clock Wednesday morning.
“The entire conference has worked hard these last few months to prepare for the return of sports to our campuses beginning this fall,” PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said in the statement. “However, it has become apparent that the safe conduct of sports under the guidelines of social distancing is untenable for our members. We cannot place our studentathletes at greater risk than the general student body. Despite our planning and collective efforts, it has become clear that we are not able to do so.”
The PSAC is the fifth Division II conference to cancel or suspend its fall sports seasons. The California College Collegiate Association (CCCA) was the first. The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAC) and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) made similar announcements.
The pandemic has had an impact on collegiate sports at every level. The Ivy and Patriot Leagues in Division I made the same announcement. The Big Ten will play conference only games if there is a season. The Centennial Conference in Division III that includes Haverford and Swarthmore canceled its fall sports seasons. The Middle Atlantic Conference, which includes Widener, will attempt to play a conference-only schedule in the fall. The University of Michigan announced on Wednesday that it will not be selling season tickets or tickets to the general public for football, if there is a season. The domino effect is expected to continue.
“I’d be shocked if people are playing,” Zwaan said. “I hope somebody plays. I hoping that they can figure out what the problems are going to be and at least there’s something going on, but I am really worried that across the board everybody will stop playing.”
The decision by the PSAC affects all sports that start before Jan. 1. The fall-season sports affected are football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, field hockey, men’s and women’s golf and tennis, as well as winter sports like men’s and women’s basketball, swimming and diving, wrestling and indoor track. The schedule for the winter sports will be determined at a later date.
“It’s devastating for a lot of these kids,” Zwaan said. “This is what they are. This is how they identify themselves, as football players, and they don’t have that right now. It’s tough on them, especially the older kids, the seniors as they look at what should have been their senior year and the excitement of having their last year playing. Everything now is completely off the table. It’s really hard on those guys.”
West Chester went 9-3 last season and qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the 10th time since Zwann became the head coach in 2003. The Golden Rams were scheduled to start training camp Aug. 10 and begin the season Sept. 3 at Bentley in Waltham, Mass.
The league did say in the release that it is looking into the possibility of moving the fall sports seasons to the spring.
“We’re hoping that will happen,” Zwaan said. “Of course, that’s just a hope right now. It’s not truly in place, but you have to give the kids hope. You have to have some positive feeling to keep them going and keep them working hard and keep them working hard in the classroom.”
If the season is moved to the spring, it would in all likelihood be a conference-only schedule, but Zwaan believes that is feasible.
“I think so, especially at our level,” Zwaan said. “I think you can work it out, make it work. It’s going to take some adjustments.”