RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 7, 2020) – The Lone Star Conference Council of Presidents on Friday postponed all competition in the sports of football, soccer, volleyball and basketball to the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Cross country will be able to compete in the fall semester as scheduled. Additionally, golf and tennis will be permitted to compete in their non-championship segments in the fall.  No other outside competition will be allowed.
 
After extensive discussion, which included a review of the requirements set by the NCAA Board of Governors earlier this week, the LSC Council of Presidents made the difficult decision to postpone soccer, volleyball, basketball and football due to the challenges of COVID-19.
 
Those four sports, which are classified as high-contact-risk sports by the NCAA resocialization principles, can practice during the fall under all applicable NCAA Division II rules, but not compete until the spring.

Practices in all sports remain delayed until no earlier than Aug. 24. 

Further, competition in cross country, golf and tennis, which are classified by the NCAA as low- and medium-contact-risk sports, may not start prior to the week of Sept. 21.

Oklahoma Christian sponsors teams in men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's golf.

"We support the LSC presidents in their efforts to keep our student-athletes safe," OC Athletic Director David Lynn said. "While we are disappointed we won't be able to compete this fall in our sports defined by the NCAA as high-risk, we are excited to welcome our student-athletes back to campus and can't wait to have them engaged again in campus life.

"We look forward to continuing to provide community service, being active leaders on our campus and preparing ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually for the upcoming season."

The LSC Council of Presidents' decision follows the cancellation of the NCAA Division II fall 2020 championship events by the Division II Presidents Council on Wednesday.

"After reviewing and discussing the Board of Governors' directives, the Division II Presidents Council made the difficult decision that holding fall championships in any capacity was not a viable or fiscally responsible option for Division II," said Sandra Jordan, chancellor of South Carolina-Aiken and chair of the council. "This decision was discussed very thoroughly, and I assure you, it was not made lightly. It is important to note that fall student-athletes will be given eligibility-related flexibility to allow them championship opportunities in the future. As we move forward, we will continue to focus on providing the best championships experience for our winter and spring student-athletes who were not afforded those opportunities at the beginning of this pandemic."

The LSC will continue to monitor updated public health information and evaluate medical safeguards and certifications to ensure safe competition. The health and well-being of student-athletes will remain top priority in all conference decisions.

The LSC decision does not affect OC's men's and women's swimming teams, which compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Swimming is considered a winter sport, and the RMAC hasn't yet announced a decision regarding sports that compete during that season.