On Nov. 12, St. Olaf Athletic Director Ryan Bowles informed students via email that the College has decided to cancel winter competition for the 2020-2021 season. 

The Presidents of the MIAC met earlier this month and established a Dec. 1 deadline for all member schools to declare their intent to participate in the winter season. With the pandemic’s increasingly grave outlook around the country and in the midwest especially, the decision to not play a winter season was made by St. Olaf in advance of winter break.

According to sources within the athletic department, all MIAC schools except for Macalester, Carleton and St. Olaf remain committed to playing an abbreviated winter season.

In his email to all student-athletes, Bowles expressed the difficulty in opting out of competition.

“We know that our seniors have played their last games for us and have had their careers cut short. Our heart aches for them,” Bowles wrote. “In the end we felt like the continued focus on the overall health and safety of our community was the most important thing.”

There has been no decision yet as to whether St. Olaf will participate in spring athletics.