Spring schedule to be packed?
As more leagues and conferences across the collegiate sports landscape are slowly moving towards moving their fall sports to the spring, it could lead to very busy spring semester for athletic directors.
With the NCAA not making a decision to force every one of its divisions and members to follow rules under its umbrella, they are all forced to make decisions on their own.
This isn鈥檛 happening just at the collegiate level though.
The PIAA has not pulled the plug on fall sports (yet) and last week, the WPIAL announced that the high school football season was being pushed back a few weeks as each district has the option to choose between hybrid options.
Even at the high school level, it seems that the higher-ups, in this case the PIAA, is trying to force others to make decisions so it doesn鈥檛 come out as the bad guy.
Word broke Monday night that Uniontown announced it would not allow any fall contact sports (football as well as both girls and boys soccer were confirmed), and while other schools have announced decisions, it is a safe bet that others will follow Uniontown鈥檚 lead.
But let鈥檚 get back to the collegiate level.
Countless Division II and III conferences, as well as some smaller Division I conferences, have already canceled their fall sports.
This past Friday, the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) announced that it postponed all fall sports to the spring semester.
This means that women鈥檚 volleyball, cross-country, golf and soccer have been moved to the spring.
If the major sports conferences do the same, it will provide some logistic nightmares for athletic directors, but it won鈥檛 affect the rosters as almost all major Division I student-athletes focus on just one sport.
But how about schools in Division II or III, or if we are talking locally, Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus?
As a branch school in the PSUAC, Fayette is small and relies on several student-athletes competing for teams during different sport seasons.
You could go to a Fayette volleyball match in the fall and see a few student-athletes that you would see on its women鈥檚 basketball team during the winter and possibly on the softball diamond in the spring.
The PSUAC has not moved the winter sports as of yet, although there will be modifications.
One person who has tried to stay on top of everything is Lou Zadecky, the Director of Athletics at Fayette, and like everyone else, it seems every question about the situations has hypotheticals for answers which provide even more questions.
He spoke about the student-athletes playing different sports and how it may not happen as much this year.
鈥淚t is nice when players can cross over between sports, but fortunately our numbers are up,鈥� he said pertaining to different programs.
One program that has relied on athletes from other sports has been the women鈥檚 basketball team, but Zadecky said that head coach Scott Hillen is bringing in a big class this year.
鈥淐oach did a fantastic job recruiting this past year and will have 15 players without any volleyball crossover,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ore numbers create a true college experience and the student-athletes can focus on the sport they were recruited for.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice if they can play more than one, and it is appreciated, but it puts less pressure on them.鈥�
Not every school that has limited numbers will be as fortunate.
For the fall programs, it means a little different of a schedule.
The Fayette women鈥檚 volleyball team won the 2019 United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship and is considered one of the favorites to win the 2020-21 crown.
Despite that, head coach Sam Swetz said the safety of her players far outweighs playing too soon.
鈥淭he (postponement) is unfortunate,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut we want our student-athletes to be in the safest environment possible while doing what they love.鈥�
So what will the spring look like, with more teams having games or meets?
鈥淚t is going to be hectic, but we will make it work,鈥� Zadecky said.
The dry eraser board in Zadecky鈥檚 office is relatively full with activities all year long, but now is will be jam-packed with events come the spring semester.
It will be like that for a lot of athletic directors.
But maybe with everyone keeping busy, it will allow for those involved to focus on games and meets while forgetting about the short-term new normal we are all facing.
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