NSIC Delays Start of the Fall Sports Season to End of September

The NSIC has announced that all fall sports will be delayed until the end of September for the health and safety of student-athletes.

In a statement released today (July 27), the NSIC said that the earliest football game to be played will be on September 26. Volleyball and soccer both had first allowable contests also pushed back to October 2. NSIC football, men's cross country, and women's cross country teams will be able to open practice on September 2, while volleyball and soccer will open practice on September 8.

“This was a challenging decision for our membership to make,” stated NSIC Commissioner Erin Lind. “For the last several months, our membership has been working tirelessly to prepare for the fall sports season, including developing the resumption of athletic principles, revamping schedules and creating competition disruption plans. At this time, we remain optimistic that we can safely conduct a fall sports season and moving the start date of competition will give us the best opportunity to give our student-athletes the experience they deserve.”
The health and safety of student-athletes, athletics personnel, and greater campus communities in the NSIC is paramount. Given the information from the medical and scientific community, and the number of uncertainties and limitations involving local and state regulations, it has become evident that a delay to the original start dates can provide the membership the opportunity to be prepared for all student-athletes to return to campus and work through all of the requirements for resocialization.

Augustana will open its football season on September 26 at Bemidji State. USF will also open on the road on the same day against Northern State. Augustana and USF then turn around to play each other in the Key to the City game on October 3.

All changes to the fall sports schedules for football, soccer, and volleyball can be found here. For the full statement released by the NSIC, click here.