No Cal Poly volleyball this fall. Big West postpones sports amid coronavirus
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced the Big West Conference to postpone fall sports through the end of the calendar year, affecting a number of teams at Cal Poly.
The decision affects men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball. Fall activities for spring sports including baseball, softball, men’s and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis have also been canceled.
The decision only affects Cal Poly teams who compete in the Big West.
Cal Poly football, for example, is a member of the Big Sky Conference, while wrestling competes in the Pac-12 Conference.
A decision on Big Sky football could come next week, possibly Tuesday or Wednesday, said Eric Burdick, Cal Poly’s associate director of athletics for communications.
“Although our student-athletes and our staff are disappointed, we all could see this coming weeks ago,” Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman said in a news release. “We know this to be the right decision, and I think our hearts were prepared for this to happen. Now we look forward to the next steps of preparing for the spring.”
The Big West’s board of directors said a decision on whether fall sports could be rescheduled for the spring will be determined at a later date, Cal Poly officials said, “based on conditions and circumstances that are in the best interests of the student-athletes.”
The return of Big West student-athletes to their respective campuses will be handled at the discretion of each institution. Big West winter sports such as men’s and women’s basketball are not impacted by Wednesday’s decision, and their seasons are currently scheduled to start Nov. 10.
Cal Poly also is a part of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for men’s and women’s swimming.
According to a preseason Big Sky coaches and media poll, Cal Poly’s football team is predicted to finish 10th in the 13-team Big Sky Conference, with Weber State forecast as the likely champion.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 5:48 PM with the headline "No Cal Poly volleyball this fall. Big West postpones sports amid coronavirus."
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