The University of Tennessee at Martin Department of Athletics will no longer play NCAA-sanctioned sports for the duration of the 2019-20 academic year.
The NCAA announced March 12 that all remaining winter and spring championships had been canceled. The Ohio Valley Conference board of presidents additionally announced that effective immediately, athletic related activities involving member institutions had been suspended until further notice due to the COVID-19 public health threat.
On March 11, the UT System announced it was transitioning to online-only courses until April 6 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
UT Martin also sponsors two non-NCAA sports in equestrian and rodeo. The National Collegiate Equestrian Association announced today it is canceling its championship event. Meanwhile, a decision on the 52nd Annual UT Martin Spring College Rodeo – set for April 16-18 – is still pending and will be reevaluated at a later date.
“The health and well-being of our student-athletes is always our primary concern,” Skyhawk Athletic Director Kurt McGuffin said. “In accordance with the OVC’s decision today, we regret to announce that the rest of the 2019-20 UT Martin Athletics season has been canceled. It is truly an unfortunate and disappointing situation but it is necessary given the COVID-19 spread. There are still a lot of unknowns and we ask for patience during this time.”
Further updates will be available at utmsports.com.
