Three University of Kentucky programs will not start their seasons as scheduled
At least three athletics programs at the University of Kentucky won’t begin competition when they normally would in 2020.
The Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday that the start of seasons for cross country, women’s soccer and volleyball would be postponed through at least Aug. 31 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay encompasses all exhibitions and non-conference contests in addition to any intra-conference games.
“The decision will provide additional time to prepare for the safe return of competition on an adjusted timeline,” the league wrote in a news release.
None of the season schedules for UK’s affected teams have been shared publicly on its athletics website.
“We have not released our schedule yet because of the volatility of the situation and games are in flux every day,” Chris Shoals, an assistant communications director for UK’s athletics department, wrote in an email to the Herald-Leader. “It only kills opening weekend for volleyball, which is typically a tournament consisting of three to four teams at one site.”
Shoals said those games possibly could be made up in later non-conference weekend events if the team is allowed to play beginning in September.
Cami Moore, a communications and public relations assistant for the department, shared the four women’s soccer games affected by the league’s decision: Purdue (Aug. 12 at home), Morehead State (Aug. 20 at home), Kennesaw State (Aug. 23 at home) and West Virginia (Aug. 30 at West Virginia). Additionally, a fourth date — Aug. 28 — had previously been canceled by an opponent and UK had been looking to fill it with another game.
“No confirmation yet on how many of these will be rescheduled and how many will be canceled,” Moore wrote in an email.
The cross country team — a co-ed program — last year began its season on Aug. 30 in Oxford, Ohio. It participated in only three regular-season meets before postseason competition occurred.
Kentucky’s men’s soccer team is not affected by this decision, as the SEC does not sponsor men’s soccer. It, along with fellow SEC member South Carolina, is affiliated with Conference USA in that sport.
The Atlantic Coast Conference, of which Louisville is a member, announced last week that its schools would not be able to compete in any sports before Sept. 1. U of L’s football season is scheduled to kick off on Sept. 2.
All 14 SEC athletic directors Monday met in person in Birmingham, Ala., their first time meeting in person since the start of the pandemic. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey following that meeting said that decisions about football would be made in late July.
Two Power Five conferences — the Big Ten and Pac-12 — have said they will not allow non-conference competitions this fall, including in football. The SEC, ACC and Big 12 have so far not indicated any such plans to move to conference-only schedules in the fall.
“It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis,” Sankey said in a Monday news release. “In the coming weeks we will continue to meet regularly with campus leaders via videoconferences and gather relevant information while guided by medical advisers.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 3:30 PM.
