MAC cancels football, all fall sports

The Mid-American Conference has canceled its football season along with all fall sports, the league said in a statement on Saturday.

In a statement, Frazier said the decision was in the best interest of the health of everyone.

"This is a hard day and a hard decision, but I am convinced it is the right decision made for the right reasons - to ensure the health and well-being of student-athletes, staff, workers and fans," Frazier said. "We have heard concerns from our student-athletes and we have listened, we have relied on the expertise of our medical staff and doctors, and we can all see that the numbers are trending in the wrong direction. Based on the data we have available and the science, I firmly believe postponing these seasons gives us the best chance to play at some point this year."

Freeman echoed Frazier's sentiments and said while NIU is confident in its "Protect the Pack" strategies and eager to welcome students and faculty back to campus later this month, athletic competition poses an unacceptable level of risk at this time.

"I applaud the Mid-American Conference for taking this stance," said NIU President Lisa C. Freeman. "While we all want college athletics to return, prioritizing the health and well-being of everyone involved is the right thing to do. We will continue to rely on medical and public health experts to guide the decision-making process moving forward."

The league added there's been no decision regarding winter sports.

"The Council of Presidents unanimously voted to take this action with the health and safety of its student-athletes, coaches and communities as its top priority," the league said in a statement. "It is the intention of the membership to provide competitive opportunities for the student-athletes in these sports during the spring semester of 2021."The MAC is the first Football Subdivision Conference to not play.

In an interview with the Daily Chronicle last month, Frazier was skeptical a fall season could be played.

"It's all about health and safety," Frazier said. "I'll just put it this way. I don't want to be too cynical about it, but the uptick in COVID, the lack of control, the lack of a vaccine, the fact states are rolling back in another direction. If it was tea leaves my friend, what I'm reading right now is it doesn't look positive."

NIU already had lost three football games. Games against Rhode Island, Maryland and Iowa were wiped out due to those conference's respective decisions to cancel football or go conference only.

The game against BYU was moved from Bridgeview to Huskie Stadium.

The season was scheduled to start on Sept. 19 against Eastern Michigan. The Huskies had their first practice on Friday.

After the practice, Hammock said the team wasn't focused on a decision like the one the league made Saturday.

"It doesn't affect our prep," Hammock said. "One thing we've talked about with our team is we have 60-plus freshmen on our roster. What a great time to develop these young guys and have the quality of work get better. The start of the season has no bearing on us. All we have to do is get better each day."