Report: Ivy League cancels all fall sports amid pandemic

Football and other fall sports won't occur this year in the Ivy League. Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Ivy League cancels all fall sports amid coronavirus pandemic

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/8/20

Two days after The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and Nicole Auerbach reported that Ivy League coaches expected the conference's 2020 football season wouldn't happen as planned amid the coronavirus pandemic, it appears that decision is now finalized.

On Wednesday, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein tweeted that the Ivy League canceled football and all other fall sports:

Sources: Ivy League programs have been informed that fall sports have been cancelled.

The conference will not entertain any sports being played until after January 1st.

Winter sports will have an update in mid-July on their respective practice schedules.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 8, 2020

No fall sports will be played until at least the start of the new year. The conference will provide an update on winter sports in "mid-July."

Stadium's Brett McMurphy added that the Ivy League football campaign could be pushed back to the spring, or that the conference's next season might not begin until the fall of 2021:

Ivy League cancels all of fall sports. It could determine at later date whether football will be played in spring or not until fall 2021. 1st reported by @JonRothstein. Don’t expect FBS to necessarily make same call, sources told @Stadium. “Ivies aren’t as vulnerable financially"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 8, 2020

Mark Blaudschun of Sports Illustrated/TMG Sports wrote about the Ivy League exploring a conference-only spring football calendar as an option in late June:

"The second plan, which is gaining momentum because of the increasing number of positive COVID-19 cases in the country, would shut down football until next spring, with a start-up (for practice) in March and another seven-game (conference opponents only) beginning in April and concluding in mid-May.

"These plans are not unique to the Ivy. Most of all of the Power Five and Group of Five FBS conferences have similar contingency plans in place. "

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