SPC cancels fall play, but independent games OK
The Southwestern Preparatory Conference is canceling the 2020 fall athletics season, but it is allowing member schools to purse competition independently.
The league governs athletics for 17 total private schools across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Oklahoma. It cites the COVID-19 pandemic and its schools being located in multiple metro areas over a vast range with varying health and safety conditions as reasons for the cancellation.
Awty International, St. John’s, Kinkaid, John Cooper, Houston Christian and Bellaire Episcopal are Houston-area schools competing in the SPC.
Episcopal athletics director Jason Grove is disappointed with the decision but said he understands and accepts the reasons for it. The school will pursue fall athletics, as will John Cooper. Episcopal welcomes students back on campus next week to resume strength and conditioning training.
“We’ve been granted the opportunity to move on independently and I can’t speak for the other schools in the conference, but I know that we’re working very hard right now, making sure, one, that our school leadership and our medical team will approve of us moving forward with the full complement of fall sports,” Grove said.
“We’re going to get a chance to play some teams that we normally wouldn’t get a chance to play if we had the SPC commitment. We’re looking at that as a silver lining in what is a disappointing day.”
The non-conference schedule for Episcopal’s volleyball team, which includes dates against last year’s Class 4A state champion, Fulshear, and Class 6A standout Deer Park, is still intact. Episcopal’s football team still has games against Port Lavaca Calhoun and Legacy School of Sport Sciences scheduled as well. Grove hopes his teams can be an attractive option for any University Interscholastic League school or team from the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools needing to fill an open date.
While it is not addressed in the league’s statement, the thought is SPC teams can play each other at their own discretion but the games would not count as official conference contests.
SPC is maintaining existing plans for winter and spring SPC championships, although the league will revisit any needed changes for those seasons at a later date.
The UIL’s Class 1A-4A schools started the volleyball regular season Aug. 10 with football teams in those classifications starting the regular season Aug. 27. The UIL’s 6A and 5A group start fall practices Sept. 7. TAPPS starts fall practices Sept. 7.