With the health and safety of its student-athletes, campus communities, and the general public taking precedence amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA Division III Centennial Conference—in which 17 of Johns Hopkins University's 24 varsity athletics teams compete—announced today that it was cancelling conference competition and championships for all fall and winter sports during the 2020-21 academic year.
Sports affected by the decision include men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's indoor track and field, and wrestling.
The decision was made following several months of discussions among all levels of the conference governance structure. Strategies for how to safely and effectively conduct conference competitions for fall and winter sports during the spring semester were developed and evaluated, but ultimately the conference cited several factors that played a role in the decision, including the rising number of COVID-19 cases across the country; the shift of spring academic calendars to a later start; campus policies regarding travel, group size, and visitors; and the ability to meet recommended NCAA testing guidelines.
The Centennial Conference said it will evaluate the possibility of spring sports competition in January.
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