UMAC announces update on planning for fall 2020 and COVID-19 impacts
ST. PAUL, Minn.---As the 2019-2020 academic year nears an end, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) provided an update regarding planning efforts for the 2020-2021 academic year and specifically COVID-19 related impacts. The UMAC Council of Presidents/Chancellors and Administrative Council (Athletics Directors & Senior Woman Administrators) remain focused on conducting fall athletic competition and are cautiously optimistic UMAC student-athletes will return to play in the upcoming fall season.
The UMAC Administrative Council is scheduled to meet bi-weekly throughout the summer months and will meet with more frequency if needed as the fall sports season draws near. Following these bi-weekly meetings, the UMAC will release updates and pertinent announcements regarding the contingency planning efforts of the conference. The conference governance councils are working to develop processes and protocols for returning fall sports to practice and competition and for conducting in-season practice and competition in a manner that protects the safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches, officials, staff and fans.
As part of the planning process, the UMAC will utilize best practices and resources from the NCAA Sports Science Institute (SSI), National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), American College Health Association (ACHA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local and state health guidelines. Each of the states in which UMAC full or associate members reside in has the authority to implement resocialization and return to play requirements as it deems necessary and appropriate. It is expected that the UMAC will provide additional sport-by-sport guidance for both returning to play and in-season protocols.
The safety and well-being of UMAC student-athletes as well as UMAC coaches and member institution athletics staff members remains the highest priority as part of COVID-19 contingency planning efforts. While there are certainly many questions to still answer and numerous decisions that will be made over the next few months, the UMAC and its member institutions are committed to navigating the current challenges facing higher education and intercollegiate athletics with the interest of its student-athletes and the mission and core values of the conference guiding decision-making efforts. UMAC institutional and conference-level decisions will be grounded in its core values of community and respect.
While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly has presented new challenges for intercollegiate athletics to tackle, the UMAC is focused on proving a positive student-athlete experience and maximizing opportunities for UMAC student-athletes during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Conference updates throughout the summer related to COVID-19 decisions can be found on the
UMAC COVID-19 Resources Page.