OVC suspends spring athletics amid COVID-19 concerns

Following in the footsteps of many other notable collegiate athletic conferences, the Ohio Valley Conference announced Thursday it would suspend all athletic activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The suspension by the conference will affect all spring sports including men’s and women’s basketball, golf, baseball and softball, tennis, track and field, soccer, golf, cross country and beach volleyball. Murray State belongs to the OVC. 

The OVC also instituted a ban on all recruiting-related travel until April 3, at which point the ban will be re-evaluated. 

Besides the NCAA canceling the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments, it also canceled the following events, according to ESPN’s Graham Hays:

• March 13-14: Men’s and women’s indoor track and field championships
• March 19-21: Wrestling championships 
• March 20-21: Hockey/Women’s Frozen Four 
• March 18-21 Women’s swimming and diving
• March 25-28: Men’s swimming and diving
• April 17-18: NCAA women’s gymnastics championships
• April 9-11: Hockey/Frozen Four
• May 1-3: Women’s beach volleyball championship
• May 14-23: Men’s and women’s tennis championships
• May 22-27: Women’s golf championships
• May 22-24: Women’s lacrosse
• May 23-25: Men’s lacrosse
• May 28-June 3: Women’s College World Series
• May 29-31: Men’s and women’s rowing
• May 29-June 3: Men’s golf championships
• June 13-24: College World Series

The ACC, American, Atlantic Sun, Big 12, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Colonial, Missouri Valley, Mountain West, NEC, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC and WAC all announced suspensions until further notice through at least the end of March, according to ESPN. However, the America East, Big East, Big Ten, Ivy League, MAAC, MEAC, Patriot League and Stanford all announced cancellations of their spring seasons.

The MKY Guide will continue to update you as more information becomes available.