NEW ULM, Minn. - In response to the continued COVID-19 pandemic, Martin Luther College canceled the rest of its spring and non-traditional sports season over the weekend.

MLC's cancellation of spring sports activities comes after the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) canceled all league and tournament games for the spring on Monday, March 16.

With all of the scheduled athletic contests canceled already following the conference decision, MLC made the decision over the weekend to also cancel all non-traditional scheduled events, including spring football, volleyball and soccer.

"We did not come to this decision lightly," MLC Director of Athletics Jim Unke said. "As we continue to take in all the new information in this situation, this became the clear and only choice for us to protect our student-athletes, fans and community."

On Thursday, March 12, MLC announced the extension of spring break through March 22, and that all classes through April 9 will be conducted via Alternative/Distance Learning methods starting today (Monday, March 23). Decisions on whether students will return to campus for classes following the Easter break will be made by April 8.

On Friday, March 13, the NCAA announced it will not charge a season of eligibility for any student-athlete participating in a spring sport. It also announced it would waive the spring semester from counting towards its limit of 10 semesters/15 quarters for all student-athletes, even if they did not participate in a spring sport.

"We feel terrible for our student-athletes, in particular our seniors," Unke said. "This is not in any way what we wished to happen, but we are glad the NCAA has given the opportunity for our student-athletes to get that season back if they choose to take advantage of that."

For the release from the UMAC on the cancellation of the spring season, click here. 

For continued and up to date information on the COVID-19 pandemic from the MLC website, click here.