EDITOR’S NOTE: This release from Tompkins Cortland Community College is similar to releases we’ve gotten from other community colleges. No-contact sports are being moved to spring at community colleges. Sports like cross-county and tennis can take place in the fall.
Tompkins Cortland Community College, in alliance with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), has announced changes to its athletics schedules due to the coronavirus pandemic. The men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball seasons – which typically occur during the fall semester – have been postponed to the spring semester. The men’s and women’s basketball seasons – which typically start during the fall semester and continue into the spring – will now be entirely in the spring semester. While all teams will be able to practice during the fall semester, cross country, a non-contact sport which can compete in a manner that is in alignment with current safety protocols, will be the lone team competing for Tompkins Cortland this fall.
“From the moment we ended the spring seasons back in March, we have been anxiously working on getting our student-athletes back to campus and back competing. And while it is disappointing that we have had to alter our schedules, we are excited that our student-athletes will be back on campus and working with their coaches and teammates this fall,” said Mick McDaniel, Director of Athletics at Tompkins Cortland.
The College’s Athletics Department has been planning for the safe return of student-athletes to campus. McDaniel and his staff will hold meetings with student-athletes and their families to provide details about physicals, testing, and schedules, as well as provide the opportunity to ask questions. He wants to be clear that the College’s commitment to fulfill the promise of athletic opportunity remains.
“While many other colleges announced they were cancelling all of their athletics for the fall, including practices and the opportunity to meet as a team, we wanted to do everything we could to give our student-athletes the best experience possible. Ultimately, this change in the seasons accomplishes that,” said McDaniel, noting that the change will give student-athletes and coaches the time and facilities to be at their physical and mental best when competition begins in Spring 2021. “Our teams will be able to do safe workouts together in the fall, training and conditioning, building chemistry and establishing team identities. We can do this while minimizing the risks of exposure that would come with a full schedule of travel and competitions with other schools.
“When we had to shut things down in the spring, I said it was a necessary step to take so we could look forward to taking to the fields another day. I feel the same about this change. It is disappointing, but a needed action to get us back to where we want to be.”
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