Ivy League cancels competition and training for spring 2021 amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Ivy League says there will be no league competition and training this spring amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, teams will be relegated to local games depending on the status of public health conditions.
League officials said current pandemic-related regulations are "not compatible with a traditional Ivy League season."
RELATED: US life expectancy drops a full year in COVID-19 pandemic, most since WWII
The Ivy League Council of Presidents announced on Thursday that they have decided not to hold league competition or host league championships this spring.
But the league says it is working on a process that may allow for limited or local competition during the spring if public health conditions improve.
"Due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, and in order to maintain compliance both with campus travel, visitor and gathering policies and also with the state guidelines governing each institution, the Ivy League will not conduct conference seasons or conference postseason events in any spring sports," the council wrote in a press release.
NEW HAVEN, CT - MARCH 16: A general view of the Ivy League logo at center court prior to the college basketball game between Penn Quakers and Harvard Crimson on March 16, 2019, at John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, CT. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmit
In a joint statement, Ivy League presidents said, "The public health measures now in effect at all Ivy League universities have been carefully designed to support our teaching and research missions while keeping our students, faculty, staff and neighboring communities safe."
"We will continue to monitor the situation as we move forward so that our universities can determine whether Ivy League principles and evolving health conditions might allow for limited, local competition later this spring," Ivy League officials continued.
This is the fourth straight season of sports that the Ivy League has canceled due to COVID-19. Spring athletes have now missed two consecutive years of competition. The Ivy League, just like the winter season, is the only Division I conference not offering spring sports, according to the NCAA.
The Ivies have given up their automatic qualifiers to NCAA spring sports championships.
The Ivy League presidents did offer a one-time waiver last week allowing senior s who attend grad school at their current institution to compete next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.