Terriers surviving despite other collegiate program casualties nationwide
For sports fanatics, March 2020 was a dark time. A very dark time. Basketball fans were hit hard; for some it was Rudy Gobert’s press-conference microphone fiasco and subsequent positive test on March 11 that put the NBA season on hold “indefinitely,” or maybe it was the cancellation of a swathe of college conference tournaments, and eventually the sacred March Madness tournament.
Many feared for fall athletics, particularly football, and some politicians even incentivized citizens to follow guidelines if only for the sake of live sports returning. But as the NBA bubble proved a success and the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL and most major college programs all returned in some capacity, albeit fanless or with limited attendance, some amount of sports seemed guaranteed to enthusiasts and athletes alike.
But programs without power-conference budgets, championship pedigree, or not belonging to those qualifying as “major” sports that draw the most viewership and revenue have suffered. Businessofcollegesports.com has a tracker showing which schools have cut what sports, and how many student-athletes are affected.
A host of Power-5 and Group of 5 universities, many of them public, have all cut at least one sport, including Cincinnati, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan State, San Diego State, Stanford, UConn and nearby Clemson. Just a few affected sports include Men’s Soccer, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Track and Field, Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving, Men’s and Women’s Fencing, Wrestling, Women’s Lacrosse and Men’s Gymnastics.
Several of Wofford’s in-state neighbors, including fellow mid-majors Winthrop and Furman, cut multiple sports; Clemson’s nixing of the Cross Country/Track and Field program after this year concludes prompted a website and petition to save the team. Even the great American pastime is not safe,as Furman, Boise State and Chicago State all cut their baseball teams.
Despite challenges at similar programs, Wofford has managed to survive without cutting any programs, but the year has not been without challenges.
“Before the year began, the team was looking rough,” Marcus Stallings ‘21, a senior on Wofford’s rifle team from Fort Mill, SC said.“We lost a senior and two additional shooters didn’t return to campus due to COVID-19 among other reasons.”
The logistics of certain sports have presented less challenges than others, however.
“Due to tennis being a COVID-19-friendly sport, not much has changed,” Lizzie Massie ‘22 said. “We have to get tested a lot, but it’s a small sacrifice we are willing to make to be able to play.”
The outdoor matches have allowed spectators to watch the women’s team post back-to-back home defeats of Charleston Southern and App State on Feb. 19 and 20.
This is not the case for all sports, though. Stallings mentioned that, during the Fall 2020 semester, there were no matches and limited team bonding at the time, the team had to practice in masks, which he said changes the way your cheek rests on the rifle, making the gun slip occasionally. Cross country required runners to wear masks for practices, which presented a physical challenge.
The team ran at only one meet last semester, hosted by Newberry College, before placing 9th at the conference meet. Access to many of the facilities, including the locker room and training room, was limited by appointment or even eliminated.
“It feels a lot different,” Jack Moody ‘22 said. “Even now during track season, we’re getting tested once a week. We do have meets now, but they don’t let anyone in the indoor facilities except people racing.”
Runners were escorted into a meet hosted by the soon-to-be-defunct Clemson program. Although meets at VMI and Liberty have gone on as scheduled, a mid-January meet against ETSU that would have been the season opener was canceled the week of due to rising positive case numbers at ETSU.
A general sentiment of the desire to compete has prevailed, however.
“It stinks. It’s not what it used to be,” Moody continued, “but we’ve all been willing to follow the restrictions or rules because we want to compete…everyone’s been wearing masks, everyone’s been taking social distancing seriously.”
Stallings offered another optimistic take, saying that, “despite this, our team has been phenomenal at keeping connected and motivated even during separation. Team morale had been at an all time high since the school reopened to level 3 covid regulations.”
Massie and Moody also both emphasized the importance of team camaraderie given the challenges of the pandemic.