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Posted: Mar 16, 2020

TCC cancels remainder of 2019-20 athletics schedule

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 16, 2020) – Tallahassee Community College, in accordance with the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), on Monday, announced the cancellation of its 2020 spring sports seasons as a result of the continuing developments surrounding COVID-19. 

In addition to the spring sports announcement, the NJCAA also cancelled the Division I and II basketball championships, originally scheduled to begin March 16 and later postponed to an April 20 start date. Tallahassee's men's basketball team received an at-large invitation to the 24-team event in Hutchinson, Kan., and was slated to open first-round play against Shelton (Ala.) State Community College on the first day of the tournament. 

Instead, the Eagles will enter the history books as 2020 Panhandle Conference Champions and FCSAA Runners-up with a 27-6 record. 

The cancellation also impacts the Eagles' baseball, softball and men's and women's outdoor track teams. 

"While there are no words to describe the sadness I feel for our student-athletes and coaches who will not be able to complete their seasons, I am confident the NJCAA leadership made the right decision and one that is in the best interest of our student-athletes' safety and well-being," said director of athletics Rob Chaney. "The decision wasn't made lightly, and I appreciate the NJCAA's efforts to try and find a way for our student-athletes to compete." 

Last Thursday, the FCSAA suspended events statewide through March 28, and the NJCAA postponed its basketball championships to April 20. The following day, the NJCAA announced a nationwide "no competition period" through April 3. Sunday evening, however, new recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) prompted further action. 

"In light of the progressive evolvement of the COVID-19 situation, the NJCAA has decided to end all competition for the remainder of the academic year," stated Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President & CEO. "As an association, the NJCAA exhausted all possible avenues to potentially postpone competition for both upcoming basketball championships and spring sport competition. We believe, following the recommendations of the CDC, it is in the best interest of our member colleges and our student-athletes." 

Spring competition includes all practices, regular season, postseason and national championship play. 

The Eagles' baseball team concludes the season with a 20-9 record and No. 7 ranking in Region 8. On the softball diamond, Tallahassee finished 7-14. 

The track teams ran just one event, the Adonica Ferguson Classic on March 7. 

Monday's announcement also included the following guidelines: 

  • No spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled at a member college in 2020 will be charged a year of participation.
  • All on- and off-campus recruiting for all sports will be halted until April 15 with further evaluation to be assessed at that point in time.
  • The NJCAA will explore the opportunity to expand allowable Letters of Intent for spring sports for both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years under the recommendation of the NJCAA Eligibility Committee.

"Our student-athletes and coaches have handled this situation with the utmost class," added Chaney. "As more decisions are made in the coming days, Tallahassee Community College will continue to support our student-athletes in every way possible."