November 11, 2020

To the North Central College community:

Since the initial announcement of the suspension of athletics activities on the North Central campus, the athletics department leadership has overseen a dramatic increase in the volume of COVID-19 testing, as well as an expansion of routine cleaning of facilities and reinforcement of the importance of adhering to safety protocols to coaches and student-athletes. I appreciate their diligence in this effort and their commitment to the health and safety of our student-athletes and everyone in the campus community.

However, given the increase in the number of positive tests in our region, throughout the state, and nationwide, we have decided to extend the suspension of athletic practices, conditioning sessions, meetings, and other team activities through the end of the 2020 fall semester (the fitness center and weight room facilities will remain open for the remainder of the semester). While our own on-campus testing has shown improving results, our decision is being made out of an abundance of caution for the well-being of everyone in the campus community.

We will continue with our COVID-19 surveillance testing of student-athletes, coaches, and department staff, with the final tests of the semester to be conducted on Saturday, November 14 and Wednesday, November 18.

We will direct our efforts during this time to ensuring a safe return to campus for our student-athletes in January.  In the meantime, we continue to urge everyone on and off campus to continue following the procedures and protocols set forth by the College’s Institutional Response Team and the Athletic Department.

Sincerely,

Marty Sauer
Vice President for Enrollment Management and Athletics