CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University announced Monday it will suspend all fall sports until further notice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
KREM 2’s Brenna Greene reports that none of the university’s fall sports had received approval from Spokane County to practice outside of groups of five.
The decision comes days after the Big Sky Conference postponed football until the spring of 2021.
According to a press release from the university, there was no firm start date for when practices would begin but they will continue off-season workouts in accordance with NCAA, federal, state, local and EWU mandates regarding social distancing, wearing of masks and symptom disclosures.
"We have a significant commitment to the safety and well-being of our student-athletes," Eastern Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Lynn Hickey said in a press release. "We didn't take this decision lightly and feel for all of those who are impacted. But we didn't foresee the situation improving significantly in the coming weeks for us to safely begin practices and competition. We'll await further information and decisions to determine our next steps."
EWU soccer was expected to begin Oct. 2 on the road and Oct. 9 at home, according to the press release. Volleyball was set to open on the road on Sept. 24 and then play at home on Oct. 1. Cross Country’s home meet on Sept. 1 was canceled and was going to begin its season on Sept. 18.
Tennis and golf usually have most of their seasons in the spring, but have a non-traditional season in the fall, the press release says. Neither of those sports had announced any scheduled competitions for the fall.
