SIAC TO SUSPEND FALL ATHLETICS

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July 2, 2020 by A.D. Drew, Black College Sports Network

Per multiple sources, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) will not sponsor football in Fall 2020.  This decision comes on the heels of Morehouse College suspending athletics last week, reports this week of the Ivy League strongly considering playing Spring football in a self-contained league (source: ESPN), and various Historically Black College or University (HBCU) Classics and high profiled non-conference HBCU games that have been cancelled.  The SIAC would become the second conference to cancel Fall sports, following the lead of the California College Collegiate Association (read more here) that made the decision this past June. Of course, all of these decisions are being made in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per Yahoo Sports, factors such as cost surrounding COVID-19 compliance and testing, along with student-athlete safety have factored into the decision that Morehouse made last week (See co-host Bryan Fulford’s story on the effect of the Morehouse decision here).  A schedule scramble has occurred over the past 30 days for many HBCUs. Thus far, the cancellation of the Morehouse schedule for football and cross-country is the only event that has affected the conference while traditional homecomings have been cancelled among the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and numerous Classics have been cancelled or moved featuring schools in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). 

The SIAC has 14 institutions that compete in athletics.  Eleven members play football (LeMoyne-Owen, Paine, and Spring Hill do not play football) and thirteen members (all schools excluding Morehouse) play volleyball. The SIAC website does not specify who participates in cross-country. Sources suggested the straw vote was essentially a 50/50 on whether to play or not to play. Below is a breakdown of several of the issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and SIAC fall sports:

• According to sources, the SIAC Commissioner is recommending to the SIAC Council of Presidents to suspend Fall sports.

• We reached to the SIAC office. When we asked for an interview to talk about the rumored cancellation of the SIAC football season, the conference office stated that they would not be available to discuss rumors.
• According to sources, nine SIAC Presidents with football programs held a straw vote this past Saturday to gauge whether they should play or suspend football.

• The vote was 5-4 not to play.

• According to those same sources, more schools in the West Division of the conference voted to play than schools in the East Division.

• 3 schools from the West were in favor of playing

• 2 schools from the East were in favor of playing

• If the conference cancels fall sports, member institutions could choose to play this fall as an independent football program for the season.

• It should be noted, the Governor and Board of Regents in Ohio will determine if public higher education institutions in Ohio play football this Fall. A decision not to play would eliminate Central State as a conference opponent. There is strong indication that Central State will not play this Fall, regardless of the Governor’s decision.

• Edward Waters College, currently a NAIA independent football program (full member of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) in all other sports) is considering this Spring on submitting an application to the NCAA to formally transition from NAIA membership to the NCAA for Division II membership. As such, Edward Waters is playing an SIAC football schedule and could lose its entire month of games in September. 

• September 5 vs. Morehouse College (prior to Morehouse suspending their season) was cancelled because the NAIA updated governance policy pushed the opening of the football season back to September 12.

• September 12 vs. Florida Memorial has been moved to November 14 due to FMU’s conference revised schedule. 

• September 19 vs. Lane College could be in jeopardy if Lane or the conference suspends football.

• September 26 vs. Central State University could be in jeopardy if Central State suspends football.  

• As an NAIA institution, games versus Edward Waters do not count towards playoff qualification (minimum 7 games versus Division II opponents).  Games versus FCS opponents do not count towards region records either. (Note: watch for ongoing schedule changes as institutions try to ensure that they qualify for the NCAA football playoffs.) 

• According to multiple sources, a SIAC Council of Presidents’ meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 7 to discuss the upcoming Fall season. This meeting will include a discussion of all Fall conference sponsored sports: football, volleyball, and cross-country.

• Sources say that the SIAC Athletic Directors (ADs) have previously held a meeting to discuss the upcoming fall season and made a recommendation to the SIAC Council of Presidents. In addition, the ADs have sought further information on the following:

• Will the NCAA grant an extra year of eligibility to students from member institutions that do not play this fall?

• There is considerable concern around the cost associated with testing and the cost associated with maintaining a safe environment for student-athletes

• Note: If the institutions choose to compete in Fall athletics, they would do so as independent programs 

• One state is giving all schools in the state enough testing kits to test any students that return to campus - public or private.

• Cost of the test is $100 per test. Funds coming from the CARES Act.

• After the initial test, subsequent testing will have to come from the athletic budget.

• ‘Act of God’ clause in classic contracts may be the reason why games are being cancelled. Schools/Promoters may go in the negative due to lowered attendance. 

• Among the sources that I spoke to, one theme was common: although our institution has protocols and procedures in place, how can we guarantee that the next institution is doing what they are supposed to do at the level that they should do it?

What is the reasonable level of risk that the conference or the institutions are willing to take?  What are the moral obligations?  What are the financial impacts of these decisions?  As these questions are to be answered by the SIAC and it’s member institutions. The Black College Sport Network will continue to do its best to provide information as it becomes available. Follow the BCSN Sportswrap with Bryan & A.D., along with Dr. Cavil’s Inside the HBCU Sportslab with Charles Bishop and Mike Washington for breaking news. For the most up to date information, download the MyJBN/MyBCSN app (available on the App Store and Google Play) or follow us on social media at @mybcsn1. 

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