The Ohio Valley Conference announced on Monday that it is canceling all spring and winter sports competition and championships. The move comes after competition was suspended last week.
In a statement on Thursday, The Ohio Valley Conference Board of Presidents announced that "effective immediately OVC member institutions will suspend athletic-related activities including all competition, and formal practices until further notice due to the COVID-19 public health threat. All recruiting-related travel is also suspended until April 3, 2020, at which time the impact of that ban will be evaluated. The main priority of the OVC is to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators. The league will continue to monitor all relevant information on COVID-19 on a daily basis."
On Monday, the league made those suspensions cancellations.
"The Ohio Valley Conference Board of Presidents have announced effective immediately the cancelation of all intercollegiate competitions, including OVC Championships, through the end of the 2019-2020 academic year to the COVID-19 public health threat," the league posted on its website.
"During this time of concern and uncertainty, EKU Athletics absolutely supports the steps that have been taken to protect the health and welfare of our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and campus community," said EKU athletics director Matt Roan. "While these actions are understandably disappointing to many, including myself, please know that these decisions are entirely in the best interest of our stakeholders. We look forward to working to mitigate the impact on our student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans.
The OVC cancelation coincides with the NCAA canceling the entirety of its spring and winter sports championships. The NCAA said in a statement on Thursday, "Today, NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors canceled the Division I men’s and women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, as well as all remaining winter and spring NCAA championships. This decision is based on the evolving COVID-19 public health threat, our ability to ensure the events do not contribute to spread of the pandemic, and the impracticality of hosting such events at any time during this academic year given ongoing decisions by other entities."
EKU sports affected include: beach volleyball, softball, baseball, men's and women's track and field, men's and women's golf and spring football practice.
The EKU softball team was on a record-setting win streak before the cancellation, and the baseball team had a 12-2 record and a win over the LSU Tigers on its resume.