(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) – Due to the ongoing global pandemic, Carnegie Mellon University Athletics has cancelled intercollegiate competition for the winter season and will not resume play any sooner than March 1, 2021. The decision directly impacts the competitive schedules of both men’s and women’s programs in the sports of basketball, swimming and diving and indoor track and field.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write to share that Carnegie Mellon will cancel its winter sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” said Director of Athletics Josh Centor in an e-mail to Carnegie Mellon’s student-athletes. “While we will not compete in those sports this winter, we will not shut the door on competitive opportunities this academic year.”
Centor went on to explain in his email that the Return to Play Task Force, which includes university administrators and team physicians, will continue to meet and explore options for fall sports to compete in the spring. “If there is an opportunity for us to play basketball or swim, we will explore it,” mentioned Centor. “We will also continue to explore track and field opportunities, with a likely emphasis on the outdoor season.”
Carnegie Mellon’s position follows a decision by the University Athletic Association (UAA), which was announced on October 27. The Presidents Council approved the following resolution regarding 2020-21 winter scheduling among UAA member institutions:
“Over the last several months, several UAA committees comprising athletic administrators, vice presidents and deans, faculty athletics representatives, athletic trainers, and others have met on a regular basis to consider how winter sport competition might take place as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect UAA campuses, their communities, and the nation. In the course of those discussions, it became clear that a substantial number of issues related to the implementation of recommended NCAA testing protocols for winter sports; current institutional travel limitations; local and state travel quarantine guidelines; local restrictions on the size of group gatherings; event management; and contingency planning to provide care for individuals who may test positive or become symptomatic while traveling present challenges that cannot be resolved in a manner that would facilitate an acceptable level of risk mitigation for student-athletes, coaches, officials, staff and others involved in the conduct of UAA winter sport competition.”
The Return to Play Task Force will continue to monitor the national landscape and work in conjunction with the university’s senior administration regarding the university’s safe return to intercollegiate competition.
For up-to-date information from the university, please visit Carnegie Mellon’s Coronavirus alert webpage.
