While some fall sports have been postponed for Westminster, all fall sports have been green-lighted to go on at William Woods.
The American Midwest Conference's Council of Presidents voted Friday to move forward with the fall sports season as scheduled, the conference announced in a press release. That includes non-conference play in addition to conference play, as well as conference postseason championships.
"We are certainly in an unprecedented time and a situation where circumstances are changing daily, if not quicker. The health and safety of our student-athletes, staff, and campus communities is the number one priority for everyone across the AMC," AMC commissioner Will Wolper said in the press release. "Our goal throughout the summer, as we looked towards the fall, was to find a way to provide our student-athletes as great an athletic and educational experience as possible in a manner that also kept that priority. With the unknown of what the fall and spring may look like, our presidents, based on what we know today, believe this is the best way to proceed."
Last month, the NAIA's Council of Presidents decided to postpone fall sports national championships until spring 2021. However, the NAIA granted its institutions the ability to go ahead with their fall sports season as scheduled.
The William Woods men's soccer team begins its season Sept. 5 at home against Southwest Baptist, while the women's soccer team hosts Central Methodist on Sept. 9 for its opener.
The volleyball team starts its season Sept. 5 in the Hampton Inn Volleyball Classic at Columbia.
Both the men's and women's cross country teams begin their seasons Sept. 7 in the Southwest Baptist Bearcat Classic at Bolivar.
William Woods also competes in men's and women's golf and men's and women's tennis in the fall, but 2020-21 schedules have not been posted online for those sports.
The AMC Council of Presidents have kept open the possibility of moving contests to the spring that cannot be completed during the fall. As of now, Lyon College is the only AMC school that has announced it will not compete in fall sports, as it has moved to online classes for the fall semester.
Also on Friday, the AMC Council of Presidents voted to move all conference basketball games after Jan. 1, 2021. As a result, William Woods' doubleheader Dec. 3 at Columbia College and the women's game Dec. 5 at Stephens College have been postponed.
All other William Woods conference basketball games had been scheduled to take place in January and February.
Additionally, the AMC Council of Presidents said schools have the ability to choose what they can do with their non-conference basketball schedules.
"AMC governing bodies will continue to meet to evaluate necessary changes to the schedule as well as parameters for competition and any further changes to winter and spring sports seasons," the AMC said in the press release.
"Throughout the summer the Conference developed return to play protocols to ensure as safe an environment as possible when practices and games commence. In light of the NAIA and AMC recent decisions, as well as the constant changes of the pandemic, those protocols continue to be updated. The AMC, and all of its member institutions, will have a COVID-19 page on their respective web sites that will include these protocols and other relevant information for student-athletes, parents, and fans."