OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ) – There will be no fall sports for smaller UW-system schools this year as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced it is canceling the fall sports season.
That decision came down after the Council of Chancellors made the final decision, which was based on information provided by athletic departments across the conference. That information took a close look at what was going on with other conferences and schools in the region – and across the country.
This means Titan Stadium and the Kolf Sports Center at UW-Oshkosh will be eerily silent this fall with no football, soccer, volleyball, or even cross country.
Darryl Sims, UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics. (IMAGE: Courtesy of UW-Oshkosh)
“It’ll be different! A lot of folks who were either a former student athlete or who have been in this industry for any period of time will certainly miss the crowd noise and all of the things that go into preparing for game day,” says UW-Oshkosh Athletic Director Darryl Sims, “As difficult as it was, we certainly understand that you can’t put a price on anyone’s health and safety. So we are where we are with it…I get it. This is a very, very difficult time and no one wants to not be able to compete. But please think about the health and safety part of the decision.”
“The shock for most people the conference is that the verbage was canceled rather than postponed or suspended, so that’s where the wind really came out of our sails,” says UW-Oshkosh Women’s Volleyball Coach Jon Ellmann, “Ultimately it’s just a lot of mixed emotions…There’s nothing you can say to make it feel alright.”
Ellmann worked with Sims and others higher up in the decision-making process, but the formal announcement still stung more than any game day loss he’s endured.
“Even though you’re talking about it multiple times a week, you still can’t prepare for the actual release of that kind of information,” Ellmann tells WTAQ News, “I don’t even have a comparison, to be honest. There’s nothing that I can draw from for a situation like this.”
But receiving the news and delivering it to his players is a completely different story. Ellmann set up a virtual locker room meeting to speak with the team just before the decision went public.
Jon Ellmann, UW-Oshkosh Women’s Volleyball Head Coach (IMAGE: Courtesy of UW-Oshkosh)
“Those are the hard conversations I think I’ve ever had. This is the hardest loss I’ve ever experienced, period. You’ve got some heart breakers when you coach for 20 plus years, but it was gut wrenching,” Ellmann says, “We just staged it like it was a bad loss in the locker room and we had to figure out what we’re gonna do to move forward before we left that space and that’s been our mindset as we navigate through it…Keeping everybody together in a digital form is really important right now, and we’re just get excited about being back on campus, so we’re still face to face in some capacity.”
The NCAA and WIAC are still allowing 114 contact days, which means the team will still be training and doing something that resembles the sport, but not competitions will be held at this point.
“Team dynamic, culture, and training will become a very big piece of the puzzle here for the next, potentially twelve months,” Ellmann explains, “Focus will change from competing to basically the way do you think of the preseason or spring season. We can really dive into the technical aspect, we can really make some ground on what we do bio-mechanically and I.Q.-wise.”
But for many seniors, the decision could mean the end of their athletic careers.
“They’ve done a lot to get where they are and it’s not common that you get to rock and roll all four years. So for those that are there and stuck it out and have become great leaders to not have a ship to steer that senior year is really tough,” Ellmann says, “We just talked about what they can do to stay engaged and can they still lead our our program through the segment of time even though there may not be a formal senior night match.”
The NCAA is granting seniors another year of eligibility, meaning they could play if they stick around for the fall semester of 2021. However, as the Titans Volleyball seniors may still be enrolled next year – they’re entering clinicals and student teaching, which are vital to achieving their degree. Ellmann thinks that also means it’s fairly unrealistic that they would be back in a jersey in 2021.
And while the cancellation directly and immediately impacts current student-athletes, it also creates shock waves for new athletes and potential recruits. Incoming freshmen who likely missed out on their graduation due to the pandemic are now seeing it impact one of the major pieces of their collegiate careers before even arriving on campus. High school athletes looking at college sports opportunities might also have their options back up in the air.
“If you’re a senior in high school and you’re looking at us as a possible place for college, you can’t help but to ask yourself: ‘How long is this thing going to go? Will I get an opportunity if I come here next year?’” Sims points out.
While the decision to cancel the fall sports season across the WIAC will likely not sit well with most athletes, coaches, departments, or fans – Sims offered the light of hope for a late-starting winter season or even a full spring sports season.
“It’s a horrible time for mankind, and we hope that people will just hang in there with us. We want everybody to be safe. We certainly do believe that this will pass and we’ll get back to some sense of normalcy hopefully sooner rather than later,” Sims says.
