SWAC plans to cancel fall sports if dates pushed beyond Oct. 17

The Southwestern Athletic Conference is planning to start off fall sports on Labor Day weekend this year, but it is prepared to start as late as Oct. 17 or cancel fall sports completely if the COVID-19 pandemic pushes it passed that date.

Commissioner Charles McClelland made the announcement last weekend to ESPN.

“Anything after the third week in October — we have decided that’s our drop-dead date — that we wouldn’t have sports, and possibly look at the spring, but the spring would take some NCAA legislation,” he said.

McClelland also stated that SWAC schools won’t start bringing student-athletes back onto campuses until July 6 due to reported coronavirus cases. He has openly expressed his concern for the athletes in hopes of keeping everyone safe.

“If this thing doesn’t die down, I think you’re probably going to start to see closer to July and on into August more and more conversation about postponement and pushing the season back,” he said of his own conference. “Spring is something that I don’t think has a lot of momentum within the membership, but if this virus continues to do what it’s doing on into August and September, I think you’re going to see another look at where we are and where we need to be.”

Football season is the first fall sport scheduled to kick off in a few months, and with COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, it is unclear whether the virus will affect the 2020 football season.

SWAC schools in Mississippi include Alcorn State University, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University.