SOMERS - Student-athletes at UW-Parkside and several other midwest universities will have sports competitions put on hold until at least 2021. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced that competitions would be suspended through the rest of 2020 for all of its 12 members.
The decision was made due to COVID-19 concerns, and follows suit of other major athletic conferences as of late, including the Big 10. Student-athletes in the GLIAC will be allowed to practice and train, as long as NCAA, school and local/state health guidelines are maintained.
The Parkside Rangers compete at the NCAA Division II level in 13 men's and women's sports. Those affected by the conference's decision include men's and women's basketball and cross country, among others.
Located in Somers, Parkside is the only Wisconsin athletic program affected by the GLIAC decision. Other member schools are located in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan -- where nine of 12 programs are based.
'Difficult moment:' Big Ten cancels fall sports season amid COVID-19 concerns
Five months almost to the day after the first spikes in coronavirus cases in the U.S. led to the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournaments, the still raging pandemic is tearing down another American sports institution: fall Saturdays filled with college football.