Princeton has the top sports program in the league. “This is not exactly the news we were all hoping for … [+]
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The eight prestigious American colleges known as the Ivy League will not host spring sports competitions in 2021, according to an announcement from the Ivy League Council of Presidents today. The league includes Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Cornell. All competitions and postseason games will be canceled due to ongoing public health concerns related to Covid-19.
According to the announcement, some trainings and exercises can be continued at individual locations. As health conditions improve, teams may be able to compete in local competitions outside of the league.
“[T]These are the decisions needed for the Ivy League in light of the health concerns arising from the ongoing and dangerous pandemic, ”the statement said.
The cancellation of the spring season means the Ivy League will be without sports for more than a year. On March 11, 2020, the league canceled the game for the remainder of the academic year, including the finals for the winter season and all spring sports. The league was the first Division 1 conference to close last year. Just two days later, the NCAA tournaments, Major League Baseball, NBA, and NHL suspended competition.
Since then, most of the major professional and college teams have resumed the game, mostly with no fans in attendance, while grappling with outbreaks and interruptions. But the Ivy League has stuck to the principle that athletes are treated the same as non-sports students. “In the Ivy League this one [public health] Measures must apply to our athletics programs as well as to other academic and extracurricular activities, ”said the league’s statement today.
Last week, the league announced that students graduating this spring would be given a one-year waiver so they can compete as PhD students on league teams next year.
Princeton has the most successful sports program in the league. Of the 33 teams called The Tigers, 29 have won at least one Ivy League title in the past 10 years. According to the Daily Princetonian, Athletics Director Mollie Marcoux Samaan sent an email to the students today saying, “While this is not exactly the news we were all hoping for, I am very much looking forward to seeing you We can work together to create more robust training opportunities and hopefully a competition later this spring. “
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