Midwest Conference Suspends Athletic Programs

KWQC reports that the 10 members of the Midwest Conference have announced that they are suspending athletic league competition through December 31st of this year. As a result, student-athletes will not be participating in sports including football, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball.

In addition to those fall sports, athletes will also not compete in the winter sports of men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's basketball through the end of 2020. KWQC reports that a decision involving winter and spring sports, as well as the feasibility of making fall sports up in the spring, will be made in the coming weeks.

Members of the Midwest Conference include Beloit College, Cornell College, Grinnell College, Illinois College, Lake Forest College, Lawrence College, Knox College, Monmouth College, Ripon College, and St Norbert College. Cornell College is located in Mt. Vernon and Grinnell College is in Grinnell, Iowa. The MWC joins a majority of Division III conferences that have suspended or canceled fall sports due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But KWQC reports that school officials were worried about the surge of cases nationwide, and the lack of guarantees to accessible and reliable testing.

The presidents of the conferences 10 schools made their decision on Monday in coordination with school athletic directors. They said that their number one goal is to protect the health of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, families, and the campus population.