The COVID Year

A Look at How College Athletics Have Adapted to a COVID Environment

Canceled

March 16, 2020. The day athletes across the country were devastated to find out their spring seasons were canceled due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Just a few days prior to the announcement, the Olivet Nazarene University softball team was on spring break competing in a tournament in Tucson, Arizona.

Miranda Southall, a senior on the team, was devastated to hear the news that her senior season was cut short.

I was very depressed, probably until August. I didn’t do anything. I was just devastated.

Miranda southall, ONU softball

Southall was one of many senior athletes whose season – and career – was cut short. While spring sports were the most immediately impacted, they weren’t the only ones affected by COVID-19. Everyone was sent home, which means spring football was also canceled.

Mark Phelps, a junior linebacker for ONU, had similar emotions to Southall when he heard the news. He and his teammates had been working hard and “firing on all eight” only to be sent home with everyone else.

Getting Back to “Normal”?

After five months, students-athletes were ready to return to campus and their sports. But when the fall semester started, things were anything but back to normal. With heavy restrictions, many fall sports were still not allowed to return to play.

This was a challenging season filled with long, hard practices but no games to see the work pay off.

“Our bodies hurt like we’d been playing a season, without playing a season,” said Phelps.

By the end of the fall semester, many athletes were burnt out and ready for a break.

A New Hope

When Olivet resumed classes for the spring semester, the new saliva testing program offered hope for student-athletes. The “Tiger Testing” program was adapted from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s program which monitored COVID-19 cases across the campus.

Tiger Testing requires students to submit a saliva sample once a week, and high-risk students – including athletes – are required to submit samples twice a week.

In an interview with NPR, Martin Burke, a chemistry professor who helped develop the saliva test said, “Fast and frequent, that’s absolutely the key. By testing frequently the chances of catching [a student] when their viral load goes up is very high.”

A study published in the Journal of Public Health agreed with Burke, citing the importance of a quick turnaround time for testing; “Rapid detection, confirmation, isolation, and treatment of true-positive cases is, of course, essential.”

It is hoped that the Tiger Testing program will result in fewer cases on Olivet’s campus, allowing teams to return to play. Despite any inconvenience, many athletes are grateful for the peace of mind offered by regular testing.

“I think it’s beneficial that we don’t have to worry about COVID as much this semester as we did last year,” Southall said. “We just get to be athletes.”

Phelps also appreciates that Tiger Testing gives him the ability to know he and his teammates are healthy. So far this spring semester, both the ONU football and softball teams have had zero positive cases.

New Opportunities

While the pandemic brought its share of struggles, it also brought new opportunities.

When Southall’s senior softball season was canceled, she thought her career was over. But the NAIA gave her another chance to play the game she loves. According to the official website of the NAIA,

“Due to the unforeseeable and uncontrollable events related to COVID-19 that resulted in the cancellation of all spring sports on March 16, the NAIA Council of Presidents, (COP) determined students competing in spring sports should not be charged a season of competition for the 2019-20 academic year.”

NAIA.org

This meant Southall had one more year of eligibility to play softball. This opportunity was a chance to take back the season she had lost and to further her education, which was a no-brainer for her.

Phelps and the football team also took advantage of new opportunities – they got to compete in a spring season. The Tigers went undefeated (8-0) in regular season and made it to the first round of playoffs before falling to Baker University on Saturday, April 17, to end their season.

What’s Next?

It’s impossible to know what’s in store for the future. Athletics at all levels will continue seeing long-term effects of COVID-19. One thing is certain: the pandemic has shown the resiliency of student-athletes; despite many changes in the world, their love for the game remains the same.

For updates on NAIA athletics COVID-19 policies visit: www.naia.org/covid19

To read more about how Olivet was affected by COVID-19 and the saliva testing program check out these articles:
– Link to Alyssa’s story
– Link to Darren’s story
– Link to Drew’s story

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