Brandon Ladd, Sports Editor

It was a surprise when the SUNYAC announced the cancellation of winter sports on Oct. 19. Seemingly, some higher power had to get involved with the decision making, after just two weeks earlier the SUNYAC announced aproposed schedule for men’s hockey and men’s and women’s basketball. Oswego State winter athletes got their groove back, it was a feeling of normalcy in a time filled with such uncertainty. 

Then, the hammer was dropped. The SUNYAC is arguing the most recent decision was “out of an abundance of caution.” The athletes argue that most of them come to these universities for the chance to play the sports they love, the education that comes with that could have been earned elsewhere. 

Both sides have a point. It seemed like the recent increase in surveillance testing by most SUNYAC schools was working. The positivity rate for SUNYAC schools has been much lower than New York State as a whole, with 0.37% of all tests beings positive in the last 14 days, as of Oct. 21. In comparision the state is above 1%. With these low numbers and the commitment of Athletic Directors to test athletes regularly throughout an athletic season, it felt sports would be officially back on these small Div. III campuses. 

Now the athletes will go forward with their collegiate lives, knowing it will be 21 months between competition for most by the time they get back. Some will graduate, some will transfer,  and some will just stay put, wondering what could have been and anticipating their next chance to play the sport they love. 

I am not the moral police, there are fair points by both sides. This pandemic should have brought us together, instead, it has divided us even more. From Washington all the way to these small upstate campuses. 

Michael Gross, Asst. Sports Editor

This week last year, the Oswego State men’s hockey played Carleton Place Canadiens in the teal game to open up the 2019-20 campaign. One trip around the sun and things look a whole lot different today. 

I was heartbroken to learn that these athletes will not get to play and some of which will miss out on their senior season. I, too, will miss out on covering these teams from the broadcasting and journalism side but that is not the biggest issue.

Despite COVID-19 still surging across the country and hitting other SUNY schools hard such as SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Cortland, we are still three months away from when the season was supposed to start under COVID-19 conditions. This begs the question: Was this decision made too early?

Every bone in my body wants to say it was but after seeing the capability of this virus, and how quickly and easily it spreads, I think this was for the best. Besides, we have gone seven months without sports already, a few more should not be a problem in order to safely return to normal.