Sports
7A
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Th e Observer
Championship dates set for NAIA fall sports
Schedule could set
up for a potential
January or February
start to the adjusted
fall season
By Ronald Bond
The Observer
LA GRANDE — The
new championships dates
for the National Association
of Intercollegiate Athletics
2020 season — which the
NAIA recently moved to
the spring of 2021 — have
been set.
The NAIA’s National
Administrative Com-
mittee on Thursday, Aug.
20, announced when the
championships for football,
soccer, cross-country and
women’s volleyball will be
played, with those seasons
set to culminate in April or
May.
The NAIA football
championship will have
a look similar to what the
NCAA Division I cham-
pionship game has had in
recent years in that it will
be played on a Monday.
May 10, 2021, is the sched-
uled date for the football
title game, which will be
played at Grambling State
University in Grambling,
Louisiana, according to
a press release from the
NAIA.
The release stated it’s the
fi rst time the football title
game will be played on a
Monday.
The men’s soccer cham-
pionship game also will be
played May 10, with the
fi rst games at the fi nal site
— NAIA is in fi nal talks to
move the fi nal-site contests
to Blanchard Woods Park in
Columbia County, Georgia
— set for May 4. The wom-
en’s soccer fi nal-site con-
tests will be played a week
earlier — April 27-May 3
— in Foley, Alabama.
The women’s volley-
ball fi nal site is staying in
Sioux City, Iowa, and runs
the same week as the wom-
en’s soccer matches, April
27-May 1.
The earliest of the cham-
pionship competitions —
cross-country — is set for
April 9 in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa.
Playoffs, for the sports
requiring them, all begin
in mid- to late-April. The
opening round series for
women’s soccer is set for
April 15-17. That is the
same weekend as fi rst-
round games for volleyball
and football, both of which
are scheduled for April 17.
Opening games for men’s
soccer run a week later,
April 22-24.
Individual conferences
have the autonomy to set
their schedules, and Eastern
Oregon University Athletic
Director Anji Weissenfl uh
said the Cascade Collegiate
Conference will begin dis-
cussions this week.
“We are having our
first meetings (Monday)
to drill down what our
conference schedule con-
sists of,” she said.
The Frontier Conference,
which EOU football is part
of, is also meeting to dis-
cuss its schedule.
Weissenfl uh said CCC
Commissioner Rob Cashell
has formed subcommit-
tees of athletic directors,
coaches and other admin-
istrative personnel that will
take the next few days to
lay out a potential slate for
the season.
Weissenfl uh added there
is a possibility of having
nonconference contests as
well.
“I think originally it was
conference-only when we
announced the Cascade
Conference was going to do
this (move to the spring),”
she said. “Now that the
NAIA is more aligned with
moving it, I really believe
we could be open to having
those discussions…. That’s
a conference decision, but
Observer fi le photo
Kaitlyn McLeod of the Eastern Oregon University women’s soccer team looks upfi eld during a game against
Embry-Riddle in August 2019. The Cascade Collegiate Conference is scheduled to meet this week to discuss dates for
the updated fall schedule, which would likely begin in January or February 2021 for CCC teams.
I do think we’re open to
having those discussions.”
While nothing is set
yet, she said, contests
could potentially begin
in late-January for some
sports and early-February
for others.
She said a basket-
ball subcommittee also
is scheduled to meet this
week to discuss the Nov.
1 date that currently is
the earliest conference
teams could begin compe-
tition. Weissenfl uh noted
the moves by other confer-
ences to a later start date at
the NCAA Division II and
Division III level — which
CCC teams often play in
nonconference slates —
could impact what the
CCC does.
“A lot is really fl uid right
now,” she said. “We’re hard
at work trying to nail this
stuff down.”
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Observer fi le photo
Members of the Eastern Oregon University football team meet on the sideline during a
September 2019 game against Montana Tech. The National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics announced its new fall championship dates, and the football national champi-
onship game is scheduled for May 10, 2021.
Kentucky Derby will run without fans
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. —
The Kentucky Derby will
run without fans for the
fi rst time, Churchill Downs
announced Friday, citing
increasing COVID-19 cases
in the area.
It will be the second
Triple Crown race this year
without spectators, fol-
lowing the Belmont Stakes
in June. The Derby and
Kentucky Oaks for fi llies
were postponed from May
1-2 to Sept. 4-5 because of
the coronavirus pandemic.
Churchill Downs had
planned to limit atten-
dance for the 146th Derby
to 23,000.
“We were confi dent in
that plan, but dedicated to
remaining fl exible using
the best and most reliable
information available,” the
track said in a statement.
“With the current signifi -
cant increases in COVID-19
cases in Louisville as well
as across the region, we
needed to again revisit our
planning. We deeply regret
the disappointment this will
bring to our loyal fans.”
The track will refund
ticket holders for all Derby
week race dates.
Churchill Downs said its
decision comes with sup-
port from Kentucky Gov.
Andy Beshear, who said the
virus continues to spread in
the state. Beshear, a Dem-
ocrat, also cited a White
House announcement that
Louisville and surrounding
Jefferson County are con-
sidered a “red zone” for the
virus.
Beshear added the
county had 2,300 new
cases this week alone and
applauded Churchill Downs
for “making the right and
responsible decision.”
Churchill Downs did
not allow spectators for its
delayed spring meet, which
included the Derby’s post-
ponement from the fi rst Sat-
urday in May for the fi rst
time since 1945.
The switch also shifted
the Derby to the middle
jewel of racing’s Triple
Crown, with the Preak-
ness following on Oct. 3 in
Baltimore.
Churchill Downs had
based its attendance limit
on 14% of the 2015 record
of 170,513, with reserved
seating limited to 40%
occupancy. General admis-
sion would have been lim-
ited to the 26-acre infi eld.
Now, the Derby and
Oaks will go off without
anyone beneath the Twin
Spires.
“It’s unfortunate and I
don’t want to repeat it, obvi-
ously,” Churchill Downs
President Kevin Flanery
said at a news conference.
“There are more important
things, and right now the
important thing is the safety
of our community, of our
guests.”
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