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Ivy League cancels winter sports due to increase in COVID-19 cases

PRINCETON, NJ - FEBRUARY 21: General arena view during the Ivy League college basketball game between the Harvard Crimson and Princeton Tigers on February 21, 2020 at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, NJ (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

PRINCETON, N.J. (WISH) — The Ivy League has canceled all winter sports in an effort to protect the health and well-being of student-athletes. The league also says it will not have fall sports compete in the spring semester.

The decision was made due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

“Throughout the last nine months, we have asked our campus communities to make extraordinary adjustments in order to do our part in combating the global pandemic and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty members, staff and the communities in which they live and work,” the Ivy League Council of Presidents said in a joint statement Thursday.

The council said athletes can continue to train and practice as long as it is done so in accordance to their institution’s health and safety guidelines. Winter and fall sport athletes will not lose a season of eligibility.

Full statement from the Ivy League Council of Presidents:

Throughout the last nine months, we have asked our campus communities to make extraordinary adjustments in order to do our part in combating the global pandemic and to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our students, faculty members, staff and the communities in which they live and work.
 
Regrettably, the current trends regarding transmission of the COVID-19 virus and subsequent protocols that must be put in place are impeding our strong desire to return to intercollegiate athletics competition in a safe manner.
 
Student-athletes, their families and coaches are again being asked to make enormous sacrifices for the good of public health — and we do not make this decision lightly. While these decisions come with great disappointment and frustration, our commitment to the safety and lasting health of our student-athletes and wider communities must remain our highest priority.
 
We look forward to the day when intercollegiate athletics — which are such an important part of the fabric of our campus communities — will safely return in a manner and format we all know and appreciate.