Skip to content
College Sports
Link copied to clipboard

West Chester University announces no winter or spring sports

West Chester is believed to be the first area college to cancel all sports competition for the entire academic year because of COVID-19.

West Chester University basketball coach Damien Blair at a practice in 2018.
West Chester University basketball coach Damien Blair at a practice in 2018.Read moreBob Williams/for The inquirer

After West Chester University announced Wednesday that the school would continue mostly remote learning for the spring semester, the school also announced it would not be competing in any sports competitions for the rest of the academic year.

So no winter sports, no spring sports.

West Chester is believed to be the first area college to cancel all sports competition for the full academic year due to COVID-19.

The school put out the following short statement: “With West Chester University’s announcement that instruction will remain remote for the Spring 2021 semester and that the policies and practices put into place for the fall semester will continue — WCU Athletics will not be participating in any competition for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year.”

Like all Division II schools, West Chester already had postponed its fall sports.

"As the circumstances and the data surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have not changed since July when the University announced the continuation of remote instruction and decisions regarding athletics activities — our current ‘virtual only’ environment will also continue through the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year,'' the school statement concluded.

On Friday, the mayor of West Chester had declared a state of emergency, as the number of COVID-19 cases in the borough had doubled over the last month, and more than tripled among those ages 18 to 22.

Under that declaration, the borough is restricting social gatherings at private residences, requiring mask wearing, and instituting $300 fines for those who don’t comply.