By JACOB COMP, senior reporter
Romello Bentley came to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in the spring of 2020 with the dream of playing his final collegiate football season months later. His dream was put on the back burner as the sports world decided how to operate in a COVID-19-led world.
“I fell into a down-in-the-dumps state,” he said.
The football team at NWOSU has been working hard since coronavirus first changed the sports world, he said.
“We ran our own player-led workouts, attended involuntary meetings and workouts, held player-led team bonding meetings and functions,” Bentley said. “ We did everything we possibly could and then some because that’s all we had, and it was stripped from us.”
The coronavirus took the sports world by storm in early March, beginning with the cancellation of the highly coveted collegiate men’s basketball tournament “March Madness.” Basketball would not be the only sport affected.
The cancellation of college sports affected players, coaches and personnel of all different ages in numerous ways. These changes forced sports to be conducted in ways they have never been done before.
March 12 is a day that will carry weight for years to come. After the National Collegiate Athletic Association made the decision to cancel all the championship games for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season, the Great American Conference decided to indefinitely suspend all conference sports activities. This included competitions and even practices for several universities, including NWOSU.
Will Prewitt, GAC commissioner, said the decision to cancel sports was made by the conference’s council of presidents. The decision was unanimous.
“Student-athlete safety was the primary consideration when the decision occurred to cancel spring sports back in March,” Prewitt said. “There was so little knowledge about the impacts of COVID-19 across society that it was the prudent decision for college athletes at all levels to shut down.”
For players around the country, this decision to cancel spring sports because of COVID-19 was devastating. For Kailin Lian, an NWOSU softball player, the decision was shocking.
“Truthfully, I don’t think anyone saw it coming until the day it actually happened,” she said.
While the cancellation of spring sports was a difficult time for athletes, the cancellation carried an extra decision for seniors. The NCAA made the decision to give players affected by the cancellation another year of eligibility to compete for the following year.
“I was shocked, heartbroken, frustrated and mad,” said Daschal Johnson, a redshirt senior on the university’s baseball team. “I was super negative. I never thought there was any way the NCAA would give us our eligibility back.”
With two academic degrees already completed, Johnson questioned coming back to complete his senior season. With the season ending abruptly, Johnson did not have any job opportunities lined up yet for the completion of the semester. He decided it was best to come back and play the sport that he loves for one last season.
Not all seniors came to the same conclusion.
Brock Randels, senior baseball player, decided that it was best for him to move on from baseball.
“For me, it was not hard at all,” Randels said. “I was ready for my post-playing career to start. The toughest part of the decision was leaving the team.”
Randels received an offer to become a graduate assistant at the University of Arkansas the day that spring sports were canceled. He quickly made the decision to move on from his playing career, but he doesn’t forget the memories he made, he said.
“I think this has hit me more so now than ever,” Randels said. “It is the first fall in five years that I have not been having the hard workouts or the long practice days. It’s sad, to be honest with you. I do not regret not going back as it was a great time for me to step away, but there are certain things that I will always miss.”
The weeks passed and players moved on from the game – some forever, while others waited patiently to see what the future would hold in store for their athletic careers.
SAFETY MEASURES
Players returned to campus over the summer for involuntary workouts. This summer reminded players that, while they were allowed to return to their sports, things were not the same, and summer workouts had to be conducted in a way they had never been before.
“We have to check in for COVID screenings, get your temperature taken, take your weight, and the trainer would ask if we had any symptoms,” said Alejandro Aaron, a football linebacker at NWOSU.
After a series of questions, players were required to wash their hands and could then enter training facilities.
Check-in was not the only part of summer workouts that was different.
Usually, players can be seen at the facilities talking to coaches, working out and hanging out with their teammates. However, in order to comply with social distancing regulations, only 18 athletes, a strength coach and an athletic trainer were allowed in the facilities.
Players were required to wear masks during workouts, both inside and outside. They were also asked to provide their own water and refrain from touching other players. After weeks of training, players returned home for a short break before scheduled practices were set to begin.
However, on Aug. 14, the GAC postponed all athletic competition until after Dec. 31. The GAC was the last Division 2 conference to make this decision.
“Our leadership was focused on opening all 12 campuses safely for fall in-person instruction,” Prewitt said. “We certainly thought that, if that happened, there would be legitimate chances for fall sports once campuses opened without many outbreaks.”
The decision to cancel fall sports was expected after the postponement of athletics by other conferences around the country.
Athletes, coaches and organizations around the country are now figuring out how to get better and prepare for a season, whenever that may be.
For NWOSU athletes, the fall looks different. The football team began practice on Sept. 22, but these are not normal fall practices. With no opponent to game-plan for and COVID-19 regulations still standing, athletes have had to adapt.
ALL TEAMS LEARN TO ADAPT
The football team is not the only athletic team on campus that has had to change its practices.
“Practices are so different now,” Lian said of the university’s softball team practices. “It’s so weird not being able to high-five my teammate if they’ve done a good job.”
The loss of sports has affected the business aspect of the sporting world.
Financially, the loss of sports hasn’t directly affected the GAC yet, Prewitt said. However, because of the loss of major sporting events like the College World Series and March Madness, the funding of smaller conferences could feel a ripple effect in the coming years.
For some people involved in college sports, perspective is key, they say.
“Something positive that will come from this COVID nonsense is that we will be hungrier than any team that has ever played at Northwestern,” Bentley said.