Dr. Sean M. Decatur, President

North Coast Athletic Conference

Dear Dr. Decatur,

We are writing to you for the purpose of offering our support for a spring season in the North Coast Athletic Conference this coming semester. As parents of athletes at various NCAC institutions, we have seen the incredible benefits our children receive from athletic competition at the college level. We have also experienced the heartbreak, frustration, and sadness that came when the spring season was cancelled last March. Many student-athletes have chosen the liberal arts path precisely because it offered them the opportunity to continue competing in the sport that they love. Without the emotional, psychological, and social benefits of athletic competition, the liberal arts experience becomes somewhat unfulfilling for our student-athletes.

We fully understand that present circumstances surrounding the pandemic are difficult to predict. Moreover, we appreciate that many of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 virus are beyond your control, and the control of the other university presidents who must evaluate the prospects of having a spring sports season during an historically challenging time.

However, as parents of NCAC student-athletes, we have the utmost confidence that our coaches, athletic directors, and university administrators are fully capable of establishing protocols and practices to allow for safe competition in outdoor spring sports.

Our aspiration is to work collaboratively with the conference and the schools, to explore every possible option available. We hope that by working together with the coaches, athletic directors, and university administrations, we can contribute to the development of a plan that will allow athletic competition to go forward in the NCAC this spring.

While we are mindful of the difficulties created by the current pandemic, we are optimistic that by working together, we can find a way to conduct a spring season that serves the best interests of all involved. Please let us know what we can do to help your pursuit of a spring season for the student-athletes in the NCAC.

Respectfully yours,