UConn president offers opinion that fall sports likely to be canceled in 2020

There’s at least one university president who isn’t very optimistic about the likelihood of fall sports returning to college campuses in 2020.

University of Connecticut President Thomas Katsouleas told a journalism class at the school that he did not think it was likely that fall sports would be returning in 2020. After an initial report was sent out on Twitter, Katsouleas clarified his comments, saying that the comments he made were his opinion alone, and not based on any inside knowledge.

“Earlier today speaking to a UConn journalism class I was asked about the return of fall 2020 sports and how that might be managed in light of the pandemic. I began by saying that the questions surrounding fall sports are not going to be answered solely by presidents or athletic directors, but will largely be driven by the NCAA, and that in many ways these choices would be decided for us,” Katsouleas said in a release. “I did however say that the current thinking is that it’s likely that fall sports will be canceled. This was not based on any inside knowledge or discussions on the subject, and was nothing more than speculation. No decisions have been made about fall sports and when they are made, we will look to the NCAA and our conference to take the lead on those choices. We will also, as always, be guided by the governor and state government. Our hopes is that we will be able to play in the fall, as planned.”

Many at the athletic director and president level of colleges have discussed potential contingency plans for the 2020 fall sports season, should the COVID-19 pandemic impede on the planned schedule. Many suspect some sort of decision will be made by late May, but there has been no confirmed reports on a deadline or target date.

Katsouleas is one of the first university officials to make such a bold claim on the 2020 fall sports season.