Regarding conference play and national championships, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletes and their teams no longer have anything to prepare for this fall.
It’s possible, though, that the Mocs – and the football team in particular – may not be done just yet when it comes to competition in 2020.
The Southern Conference, which includes UTC in its membership, announced Thursday afternoon that there would be no conference play in the fall semester for cross country, football, soccer and volleyball due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the league’s release revealing the decision noted member schools are allowed to take part in nonconference contests if they choose, and it also said the conference hopes to move its fall teams’ league regular seasons and postseasons to the spring semester.
The release added that decisions will be left to individual schools regarding practice and competition for sports that have some activity during the fall semester but stage the bulk of their seasons and hold their championship events during the spring, such as golf and tennis.
In a UTC release, athletic director Mark Wharton said that while he was disappointed for the affected athletes, the decision was made “in the best interest of everyone’s health and safety.”