The Big West Conference Board of Directors announced Wednesday that Big West fall sports competition will be postponed through the end of the calendar year.
In making the decision, the Board recognized the continued serious challenges to health and safety on Big West campuses, such as Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and communities impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cal Poly is one of 11 institutions in the Big West Conference. This means the school's men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, and men's and women's tennis are all pushed to Spring. That includes fall competition for sports in their non-traditional segment, such as baseball and softball.
Cal Poly football is not impacted by this since the Mustangs play in the Big Sky Conference. Men's and women's basketball is also not impacted by the decision and is still scheduled to take place in November.
"Although our student-athletes and our staff are disappointed, we all could see this coming weeks ago," said Cal Poly Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman. "We know this to be the right decision, and I think our hearts were prepared for this to happen. Now we look forward to the next steps of preparing for the spring."
Officials with the Big West Board of Directors said a decision on whether fall sports competition would be feasible in the spring will be determined at a later date, based on conditions and circumstances that are in the best interests of the student-athletes.
The return to campus of student-athletes who compete in the Big West will be done at the discretion of each institution. On-campus athletic-related activity will follow strict compliance with NCAA regulations, institutional policies and public health guidelines.
