Ivy League Decides No Fall Sports

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports the Ivy League has informed all eight member universities that fall sports will be cancelled for the upcoming school year. He reports the conference will not entertain sports being played until after January 1. The league is not playing fall sports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Rothstein does not clarify if the Ivy Leagues will entertain playing a spring football schedule or if its football season is cancelled entirely. Many have implied that the Ivy League will look to play football in the Spring of 2021. Harvard recently announced it would hold the majority of its classes this fall online to limit student gatherings. It is important to note that the Ivy League schools receive the majority of their funding by way of academic endowment instead of athletics.

In the spring of 2020 the Ivy League was the first sports league to announce it would cancel its conference basketball tournament amid fear of spreading the coronavirus. The NBA quickly followed suit, following a positive test for Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert. The rest of the college conferences also cancelled their conference tournaments, with the SEC being the last to do so. The NCAA subsequently cancelled its 'March Madness' tournament, one of the largest money-making events for the organization.

It remains to be seen if the Power 5 conferences will be influenced by the Ivy League's decision to hold off on playing sports this fall as athletics are a larger part of the culture of the Power 5 schools.

Aaron Torres of Fox Sports implies that the Ivy League will attempt to play a conference only schedule in the Spring of 2021. He also says in his opinion the decision made by the Ivy League members will not influence the decision making of the Power 5 schools.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reports the decision whether to attempt to play the fall sports in the spring has not yet been determined.