Following the postponement of the Big Sky Conference to next spring, UI has canceled most non-conference games for the fall semester.
University of Idaho Director of Athletics Terry Gawlik addressed unknowns for the coming fall season over a Zoom call following the decision Thursday.
According to Gawlik, football, volleyball, women’s soccer and cross country competitions have been postponed until the spring semester. Decisions have not yet been reached regarding basketball games.
Gawlik said the swim and dive team is an outlier since the sport is in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and not the Big Sky Conference. However, WAC decided to suspend all fall athletic competitions Thursday as well.
Gawlik said the shift of fall sports to spring will put a heavy load on the coming season.
“We asked ‘what if everything gets pushed into the spring? Could we pull off all of the events?’ and all of us said ‘yes’,” Gawlik said. “Everyone’s on board with making things work.”
Recruitment has been halted since the start of the pandemic and will not re-start in the fall, according to Football Head Coach Paul Petrino. He is unsure if recruitment will return in the spring.
Despite the cancellation of fall games, UI teams will continue to practice while following safety protocols. Players are participating in team Zoom calls, agility exercises and walkthroughs to prepare for the spring.
Gawlik said student athletes have strictly followed the NCAA’s COVID-19 recommendations. All athletes are tested as they arrive on campus athletes who return to campus from outside the community are required to self-isolate for five days once arriving to campus. Athletes can begin work outs after testing negative for COVID-19.
When athletes test positive, those who have been in contract with them are asked to quarantine for 10 days so contact tracing can be completed, Gawlik said. The previous quarantine period was 14 days.
40 players were isolated and tested in the first wave of athletes who arrived on campus and more have been tested since. Some are currently quarantined to ensure the safety of their teams.
Players have continued to work hard and stay upbeat despite the conditions, Petrino said, likening the altered fall season to winter conditioning.
“We’ve just got to stay positive and keep moving forward,” Petrino said. “Just do everything we are asked to.”
Haadiya Tariq can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @haadiyatariq