Update from Mizzou Athletics Director Jim Sterk
3/18/2020 9:22:00 AM | General
Dear Mizzou fans;
Thank you for your continued generous support of Mizzou Athletics, the Tiger Scholarship Fund and our 550 amazing student-athletes. Eight days ago our men's basketball team boarded its flight for Nashville with its sights set on winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament, the same goal that the league's other 13 teams were focused upon as they left their respective campus. It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed in America over the last week as the nation deals with the COVID-19 crisis.
Yesterday, the SEC announced that all regular season conference and non-conference competitions have been cancelled for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year, including all remaining SEC championship events, due to the continuing developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition, all spring football games have been cancelled and there will be no Pro Days conducted by SEC institutions.
All of us associated with intercollegiate athletics are hurting for our student-athletes in the affected sports that have had their lives dramatically altered, but we realize the challenge that all Americans are facing. Coach Anderson's softball team was tied for first in the SEC and ranked 16th nationally while Coach Bieser's Tigers had won seven-straight games heading into its conference-opening series. In addition, our indoor track student-athletes were in Albuquerque ready to compete at the NCAA Championships, our wrestling and swimming & diving teams had multiple NCAA qualifiers set to compete at their respective championships in the coming days and our women's gymnastics team was rounding into form heading into the postseason, too. Not to mention our golf teams, which were coming off their best efforts of the spring, and our tennis team's early- season success.
It is my belief that intercollegiate athletics as well as the world in which we live in are going to be operating differently than what we have been accustomed at least in the short term. There will be a new normal. What that looks like for universities across the nation as well as their athletics programs will depend upon how hard, and how long this pandemic hits our community and the nation. I believe that we are more likely in the early stages of our challenges than the end, but I am confident that we will get through this, no matter how long it takes. It is important to remain calm and level-headed while doing what is absolutely necessary to keep yourself and your family, and most importantly, our student-athletes safe and healthy.
From a conference and national perspective, I can tell you that:
The SEC Athletics Directors are meeting daily via conference call to discuss issues of conference and national significance to include student-athlete welfare, eligibility, return to play, adjusted playing/practice seasons, etc. We must begin to pivot to looking at how things will function next year based upon not having competition and practice this spring as well as other departmental activities.
The University of Missouri (and the other 13 SEC institutions) will conduct online classes thru the remainder of the spring semester.
The SEC unanimously agreed to suspend all athletic activities, including practices, camps and clinics, until at least April 15th and the NCAA has cancelled all winter and spring sport championships it sponsors.
Recruiting remains in a dead period, as mandated by the NCAA, until at least April 15, and spring signing days may also be altered in the weeks ahead.
The NCAA has not made any final determination as to granting an additional year of eligibility to student-athletes in winter or spring sports due to the disruption of their championship or regular season contests. The SEC is pressing the NCAA to quickly render a decision on this issue for the well-being of affected student-athletes, and I would expect that a decision on this topic may be rendered by the middle of next week.
The vast majority of NCAA revenue returned to its member institutions comes from the Men's Basketball Championship, and while it has insurance and some reserves, that would likely not be enough to fulfill its obligations to the membership in the short term.
The deadline for renewing your season tickets for the 2020 football season has been extended until May 31, which coincides with the TSF deadline. Now more than ever, our student-athletes need your continued generosity and support.
It is important that we as an athletics department remain a source of stability for our student-athletes and continue to serve them to the best of our abilities in the coming days and weeks. At this time, we are offering grab and go meals for student-athletes remaining on campus (as opposed to sit down snacks) out of the MATC Dining Facility, academic support services, as well as medical and mental health care. Access to our facilities for the purposes of team or individual workouts is prohibited until at least April 15th, as voted upon Friday by the SEC membership.
We have a talented and dedicated group of professionals working in our athletics department and would certainly benefit from the combined knowledge and strength of everyone in our program being together. Unfortunately, we cannot congregate in a large group as we implement the strategy of social distancing.
I am confident that we need to embrace this challenge together, as best we can, so we can capitalize on our greatest asset, which is OUR PEOPLE! Together, we can do our part within our communities, our state, our nation and world, to do what is necessary to slow the escalation of this pandemic.
Thank you for all that you do for Mizzou Athletics. We will get through this if we all do our part.
M-I-Z,
Jim Sterk
Director of Athletics
University of Missouri
