There was good news Wednesday afternoon for athletes in the River States Conference not wanting to lose their fall seasons. RSC officials announced today their intention to resume play this fall according to the guidelines established by the NAIA Council of Presidents.
In a statement, it was noted that “the conference has monitored the COVID-19 situation continually since the cancellation of Winter 2020 championships as well as the suspension of the Spring 2020 regular and postseason. We believe the time is right to return to play this fall. We will continue to monitor the situation and take the necessary steps to adhere to all safety measures required by the NAIA, state and local governments within our five-state region comprising the conference.
Conference members are working toward bringing students back to campus at this time. For teams in the RSC, practices may begin starting August 15. No athletic contests, including scrimmages and exhibitions, will be conducted prior to September 5. Prior to all practices, all coaches and student-athletes will be screened by the university using NAIA guidelines. Prior to all competition, all support staff, officials, coaches and student-athletes will be screened by a health professional per NAIA guidelines. In addition, for the RSC, this screening will also occur prior to any team traveling.
Conference officials did note that by starting competition in the fall season, “we can still opt to move some or all of the regular season competitions or postseason championships to winter/spring if necessary.”
With the NAIA’s recent announcement to move national championships for all fall sports to the spring, conference schools will use non-conference competition during the spring semester, including with conference opponents, if needed, to prepare for the championships.
As for fans at events, the RSC says “the allowance or restrictions for fans will be left to the member schools using their state and local guidelines. Social distancing as well as mask requirements are expected.”
River States Conference members in Kentucky include Alice Lloyd College, Asbury University, Brescia University, and Midway University.
