Voluntary Work Outs Can Begin

Are These Signs of a Return?

(St. Louis, MO) – The NCAA’s Division 1 Council has opened the doors for basketball players to return to college campuses for voluntary work outs. Are these some of the first signs of a possible return of college athletics?

During Wednesday’s virtual meeting the D1 Council said universities can open their doors to the players as long as they adhere to local, state and federal mandates. For Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference schools this is a mixed bag. As all 50 states are starting to relax quarantine measures, Illinois is one of the most restrictive in its covid-19 measures.

Bradley, Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Loyola Chicago could potentially be placed at a competitive disadvantage with their league foes. The same would be true for Ohio Valley members Eastern Illinois, and Southern Illinois Edwardsville. Meanwhile in Missouri, the Bears of Missouri State and Redhawks of Southeast Missouri will have advantages over Saint Louis University. Why? The St. Louis metro area has more restrictive rules than the those being applied in Springfield.

The workouts must be voluntary and must be initiated by the student athletes.

Council members want universities to make wise choices. Council Chair M. Grace Calhoun says university decisions should be made with student athlete wellness in mind.

“We encourage each school to use its discretion to make the best decisions possible for football and basketball student-athletes within the appropriate resocialization framework,” said Calhoun, athletics director at Pennsylvania.

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