Cullowhee, N.C. – In alignment with the 10 member institutions of the Southern Conference and prioritizing both the health and well-being of its student-athletes, coaches and staff, Western Carolina University has postponed all athletic competition of its 2020 fall sports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The WCU fall sports included in this decision are men's and women's cross country, football, women's soccer, and volleyball.
 
"This decision was made with extensive evaluation and conversation," Southern Conference Commissioner Jim Schaus said in a statement.
 
"I am greatly saddened to not be able to conduct our fall conference competition. We are still hopeful that we can have these sports successfully compete in the spring. We will continue to daily monitor the COVID-19 situation in order to make prudent and necessary decisions regarding athletic practice and competition in the future."
 
The decision to postpone comes after multiple meetings of the league's athletics directors and Council of Presidents, which also expressed intentions to provide opportunities for student-athletes to compete in the winter and spring sports seasons if public health concerns can be alleviated. 
 
"With new information being provided nearly every day over the past several weeks, we wanted to be patient in our decision making and give our student-athletes every opportunity to do what they love," said WCU Director of Athletics Alex Gary. "At the end of the day, there were too many variables that could negatively affect the health and welfare of our student-athletes. Not playing a full fall sports season at this point may be the best way to remove many of those variables."  
 
Western Carolina remains committed to all 351 student-athletes and the nearly 200 affected by the fall sports postponement:
 

• All student-athletes on scholarship will remain on scholarship.
• COVID-19 testing protocols outlined by the NCAA will be strictly followed for any out-of-season practices that may take place this semester.
• Access to department facilities, locker rooms, athletic performance and sports medicine, and student-athlete support service areas will continue to be available under the current guidelines and protocols that are in place that include daily screening to access facilities.

 
Catamount Athletics will continue to work with university and conference leadership to formulate plans for future competitions. Such details will be announced as they are finalized.
 
Additional information from Catamount Athletics will be forthcoming on an initiative that is aimed at protecting the student-athlete experience at WCU including protocols for football season ticket holders regarding the postponement this fall and the anticipation of a spring season.
 
"We appreciate the continued support and understanding of our fans and we look forward to responsibly resuming competition in collegiate athletics," said Gary.