COLUMBIA, S.C. — Benedict College will not play college football this fall after the league that it participates in suspended all fall sports due to the coronavirus.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (SIAC) announced Thursday it would stop all sports and championship events through the end of the fall 2020 season. The league said it did that because of concerns for the safety of student-athletes, coaches, students, staff, and fans due to the ongoing problems with COVID-19.
With that decision, the Benedict College football team's 2020 fall season will not take place as scheduled. The league did, however, say it is looking into the possibility of moving fall sports into the spring semester.
“The decision to extend the SIAC suspension into the Fall of 2020 was guided by the prevailing data, science as well as current Coronavirus infection trajectories," said SIAC Council of President Chairman George T. French Jr. "In light of these very difficult realities, and in the context of the overarching priority of all of my colleague SIAC presidents to protect the health, wellness and safety of all of our students and staff, we are confident that the decision announced today is consistent with those fundamental health and safety priorities.”
The 2020 season was to have been the first year of new head coach Chennis Berry, who was hired in February.
Benedict College had announced earlier this week that homecoming was cancelled.
