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GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Conference Carolinas Board of Directors unanimously approved a plan to proceed with intercollegiate competition in conference-sponsored sports in the upcoming fall semester. Intercollegiate competition may begin no earlier than Sept. 18, 2020.

Chowan University is a member of Conference Carolinas for all sports except football and bowling. The CIAA, where Chowan completes in those two sports, recently announced they were canceling the fall sports season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was made in the best interest of Conference Carolinas student-athletes, coaches and administrators. Conference Carolinas member institutions may begin practicing in their championship/non-championship segments on Sept. 1 or when mandated by NCAA policy, whichever is later.

“During this pandemic, we are working to keep the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches and staff as our top priority,” Commissioner Chris Colvin said. “Our goal in Conference Carolinas is always to help our member institutions use intercollegiate athletics to achieve their overall mission. This decision by our Board of Directors, after careful consultation with our Directors of Athletics and local health officials, gives our member institutions time to focus on the resocialization process on each campus during the first few weeks of the semester and then move toward intercollegiate competition. We will continue to work on fine-tuning the safety protocols that will be implemented by all of our institutions.”

Conference Carolinas originally announced in May of 2020 that it would emphasize conference contests in the 2020-21 academic year and that it did not have any plans to reduce league contests in 2020-21. That plan is still in place.

Conference Carolinas institutions are continuing to work daily to create updated policies and procedures surrounding campus life, including intercollegiate athletics, that will allow students and student-athletes to return to campus as safely as possible. The conference is also continuing to work to create safety protocols and precautions around intercollegiate athletics participation.