Beneath the Surface is a weekly program aired on WTOP 10 and WNYO every Friday at 8 p.m. The WTOP 10 and WNYO interview was done by Brian Rudman. 

Interim Director of Athletics Eric Summers came to Oswego State to be the associate athletic director in 2014. Following the retirement of former Athletic Director Sue Viscomi this past summer, Summers stepped into the position of interim director of athletics until a new athletic director is hired by Oswego State. Summers wants to pass the baton on to the next person after steadying the ship during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I would like people to say, ‘hey, he filled in and got them going and was able to keep the seasons going despite the pandemic,’” Summers said. “It is not about me. It is about the athletes. I just want them to have a good experience.” 

Summers might want to go under the radar during his time in charge, but he is tasked with restarting Oswego State athletics after a hiatus that will reach nine months by the time a team plays an organized competition. Unprecedented times call for creative strategies to get the Lakers athletes on the field while remaining safe. Summers said there is a chance to play fall sports this spring, allowing most sports seasons to happen this academic year.

“It will be an abbreviated season just to give them some experience,” Summers said. “Again, they will not be charged a year of eligibility. The question becomes how are we going to squeeze all of those sports into our facilities.” 

Summers added weather will play a major role in the ability to cram all the sports in. A heavy winter snowfall could lead to flooding fields in the spring and delay when teams can practice or play outside. Current restrictions in Laker Hall would make it hard to rotate all teams inside for a long period of time. 

Oswego State will follow the guidelines the NCAA has suggested for a safer return to competition. Summers took those guidelines and will apply those to the winter sports starting early next year. 

“The guidelines that have come out have indicated we need to do a lot of testing,” Summers said. “They are calling for three tests a week for student-athletes prior to each competition. Right now, I think we can do that, and we are expecting better testing to come out, more rapid and cheaper testing.”

This has been a long time coming for the SUNYAC and has been a result of the conference’s athletic directors who have met weekly since last spring. A factor that has helped in recent weeks has been the volume of testing done by SUNY. According to SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras, Upstate Medical University, which is part of the SUNY system, has a weekly capacity of 120,000 tests. If that number increases it will help ensure Oswego State can meet student-athlete testing guidelines. 

Summers gave a nod to the student-run media organizations and the role they will play in the return of sports. Summers suggested any media calling the games will be considered essential staff. 

“If people are broadcasting, we want the press and if we have webcasts we certainly want that to happen,” Summers said. “We have done some preliminary looks at how that will work to try to get people into the press box. That will be one of our top priorities outside of parents to get those people in there.” 

It is harder to get fans into the arenas for winter sports due to the science of COVID-19. According to various infectious disease experts, it is easier for the virus to spread inside compared to the outdoors. Still, even if fans are not allowed, there is a plan to get parents in the arena to watch their children compete. 

“I think we are going to try that, certainly for senior nights,” Summers said. “That is a very important day for the parents and the student-athletes. I went through that as a parent for high school sports and don’t want to get rid of that. I know the local high schools around here have been giving out passes just to parents.” 

Summers has a serious responsibility currently to keep athletes safe yet competing at the same time. It seems like a distant memory to look back to games before the pandemic and the pause to regular Oswego State athletics. He looked back to the Sweet 16 run by the men’s basketball team in 2019 and the emotion of the Marano Campus Center. 

“The NCAA Tournament game we had for basketball was an exciting event a couple of years ago,” Summers said. “We were in the Sweet 16, that was something that stood out and of course the Whiteout games with Plattsburgh [State] are always a lot of fun.” 

Graphic by Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian