As we issued the official release on Monday that the Ohio Valley Conference was cancelling all intercollegiate competitions, including OVC Championships, through the end of the 2019-20 academic year due to the COVID-19 public health threat, I was overwhelmed by the sense of loss for our student-athletes who are not going to be able to experience the sense of joy and accomplishment by competing in the OVC this spring. I know whether you are a student-athlete, coach or an administrator we all share a collective sense of loss right now, but we must take solace in the fact our OVC community did exactly what we needed to do to help protect the health and safety of our student-athletes and the broader communities in which our institutions play such a large role.
Rest assured our OVC Board of Presidents engaged in deliberate and thoughtful explorations of the issues as it considered a variety of options before reaching the conclusion that the OVC needed to cancel competition for the remainder of the academic year. In addressing this issue, the Board stayed true to its values and remained focused on seeking to protect the physical and mental well-being of our OVC student-athletes.
While we all need to seek to create physical distance between one another to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we also have to be careful not to establish emotional distance, for during this crisis we need to care for one another more than ever before. The OVC is a family, and as family members, during this period, we need to continually check on one another and ensure we support one another regardless of jersey color or mascot.
Right now, I understand there are more questions than answers regarding the impact of the season cancellation in light of the pandemic. As a Conference, I promise we will do our best to work with the NCAA to advocate for sound solutions, keep the lines of communication open and strive to maintain the sense of OVC community alive. I am confident by looking after one another we will be more successful in responding to this period of uncertainty, and I trust that our members will once again demonstrate what the OVC family is all about!