Mountain West Calls Off Fall Sports

The Mountain West Conference yesterday announced that all scheduled sports contests and championship events would be postponed indefinitely as the pandemic rages on. 

According to Stadium, a vote of league presidents took place on Monday, and the Mountain West became the second FBS conference to call off the fall sports season.

“Since the start of the pandemic, our membership and staff have been working diligently to prepare for a fall sports season,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement announcing the move. “We were hopeful we could carefully and responsibly conduct competition as originally scheduled with essential protocols in place. However, numerous external factors and unknowns outside our control made this difficult decision necessary. I fully understand the impact of this outcome on our student- athletes, coaches, administrators and staff who work so hard daily to play the sports we all love, and I share in their disappointment. We will continue to navigate this pandemic together, overcome the obstacles and return to intercollegiate athletics at the earliest opportunity.”

The conference had already announced the cancellation of a few sports — men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, softball and baseball — had been canceled for the fall, but yesterday’s action affects men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and of course, football. 

In addition, Old Dominion University announced on Monday that it would independently cancel its fall sports season. That news, coupled with previous decisions by the 12-member Mid-American Conference and the University of Connecticut brought the total number of FBS schools not playing football as planned to 26. 

Dr. Mary Papazian, president at San José State University and chair of the MW board of directors said, “Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our students, student-athletes, coaches, faculty, staff and overall communities.”