(INDIANA STATE RELEASE)
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State University Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales and Head Football Coach Curt Mallory announced today that the Sycamores will opt out of the 2021 spring football season.
The decision was made following consultation with doctors and health officials, in addition to training and strength and conditioning personnel.
The Sycamores had the full backing of Indiana State University to play, but with both a spring and fall championship season, the Sycamores would play a minimum of 19 games in just under nine months, bypassing the necessary time for development and recovery.
"This is a challenging environment to navigate. I support Curt and his vision for the Sycamore football program, especially when it comes to the health, safety and development of our student-athletes," Clinkscales said. "The University has provided us with all the resources needed for a spring season and we were certainly looking forward to games, but the health and safety of our student-athletes is a priority. We look forward to normal spring practices in the coming months as we continue to work toward a full fall season in 2021."
Said ISU President Deborah J. Curtis: "We will always make the health and safety of student-athletes our first priority. I'm grateful to coach Mallory for his leadership and judgement about what's best for his players. We look forward to a successful season of football in the fall."
Mallory said he feels badly for players and coaches because they wanted to play and are mentally ready to play football.
But, he added, "The difficult situation we find ourselves in is that we may not be physically ready to play with such a short turnaround, not only leading up to a spring season but going into a full fall schedule. The wellbeing of our players over multiple seasons is my top priority and is what led to this difficult decision."
"The thing that I am looking forward to now is getting into our winter workouts for the next twelve weeks, get ready for spring practice and to really develop this football team for next fall. We have a really good team coming back along with some new players coming in and I am ready to actually be around them and get some consistency as we continue building this program moving forward."
Indiana State will use its spring to prepare for its return to action this fall, with the first game scheduled for early September.
Information regarding season tickets will be shared in the weeks to come.
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