Maverick athletics undecided after cancellation of fall D-II championships

Mel Stramm ® Sports Editor |

Last week, the NCAA canceled all fall Division II championships which directly affects the Mavericks’ football, cross country, volleyball, and soccer teams. 

While the NCAA is leaving it up to every conference to decide whether or not to hold conference-only games, it might be a while until we get to enjoy Maverick sports in person. 

As of right now, each sport gets to decide if they want to hold said games or move them into the spring. While most sports are continuing to practice, there is still a lot of uncertainty. 

Some schools already decided to cancel or postpone their seasons on their own, as the NCAA allows them to hold a more flexible practice schedule and extend students’ eligibility under these extraordinary circumstances. 

Since regulations need to be adjusted as this situation develops, no decisions have been made about crossover winter and spring sports yet. This includes hockey, wrestling, track and field, and basketball. 

One thing to keep in mind as we watch the situation is the fact that the NSIC alone includes five different states, which all decide on different regulations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. As for hockey, the WCHA includes even more states. This means that the NCAA needs to take each state’s decisions into consideration when putting out a statement. 

So, where do we go from here? All us fans can do right now is wait patiently and try to stay hopeful for things to improve once winter sports roll around. 

In the meantime, professional sports are up and running and the Mankato MoonDogs have a couple of games left for us to enjoy in person. We will try to keep you updated as much as possible once the semester starts and we know more about each conference’s decision.

Header photo from Reporter Archives.