American Rivers Conference announces postponement of four fall sports

Simpson College, in conjunction with the eight other institutions comprising the American Rivers Conference, has announced the postponement of fall athletic competition in football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. The four sports are now scheduled to compete in the 2021 spring semester. Fall competition in cross country, golf and tennis will move forward as planned. 

The A-R-C Presidents Council voted to postpone the four sports August 10, 2020. The decision came as a result of the NCAA Board of Governors announcing new mandates in its document “Resocialization of Collegiate Sport: Developing Standards for Practice and Competition.”

“Throughout the summer, the conference collaborated on safety protocols to ensure our teams could continue to compete consistent with NCAA Guidelines and the recommendations of state and local health officials,” Simpson College President Marsha Kelliher said. “The NCAA’s release of the Board of Governor’s document last week that converted the guidelines into mandates has made it no longer viable for the conference to move forward with these sports during the fall.”

The A-R-C made its official announcement Tuesday, August 11. 
 
“While we are disappointed with this outcome, we are committed to providing opportunities for maximum safe student engagement for all of our athletes and looking forward to cheering the teams affected by this decision in the spring,” Kelliher said.