The MIAC Presidents’ Council announced on Wednesday its intent to move forward with winter sports competition after postponing the decision on Dec. 15.

Basketball, hockey, indoor track and field, and swimming and diving can compete in regular-season competition, but for the safety of student-athletes and staff, spectators will not be allowed.

“Our university has done a really great job of making sure we have certain stages that we work toward so we can ensure everybody’s health and safety,” St. Thomas women’s basketball coach Ruth Sinn said. “You wouldn’t be able to do this if you didn’t understand the power of sacrifice and how you have to put people first.”

Though the MIAC will not host winter sports playoffs or conference postseason championship meets, participation in NCAA championship competition will be permitted for qualifying teams and individuals.

All student-athletes competing in winter sports will not be charged a season of eligibility for any participation in the 2020-21 academic year, due to the NCAA Division III blanket waiver enacted last October.

Institutions that have opted out of conference play are permitted to compete in non-conference competition during the NCAA-approved competition window. Teams that are not competing this season are able to host practices, strength and conditioning workouts, skill development sessions and leadership programming in accordance with NCAA, MIAC and institutional policies.

Two MIAC schools, Carleton College and St. Olaf College, will not compete this winter after both schools canceled the possibility of winter sports competition in the fall.

Basketball and hockey programs will begin a seven-game round robin conference schedule on Feb. 6; each participating team will play every other team once. The team with the best winning percentage while completing at least 51% of the schedule will claim the MIAC championship and automatically qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Regular-season basketball games will be played at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, with midweek and weekend hockey contests set for 7:00 p.m., pending facility availability.

There is no assigned conference schedule for indoor track and field and swimming and diving programs, but teams will be able to participate in regular-season meets at the discretion of each institution. Due to safety and logistical concerns, the typical postseason conference championship meets for these sports will not be held this winter.

All MIAC programs in the competition segment will follow the safety guidelines recommended by the NCAA Medical Advisory Board and Minnesota Department of Health.

Joey Swanson can be reached at swan5350@stthomas.edu.
Olivia Paradise can be reached at para4336@stthomas.edu.