Simpson College athletics plan to schedule a combination of spring and fall sports along with intramural sports this upcoming semester has brought into question how Cowles will be divided among the sports.

There have already been problems with the scheduling in the past, now spring sports are expected to adjust as fall sports enter the mix for practice slots indoors. Fall sports like football, soccer and basketball are looking for practice times inside Cowles come spring due to their season being postponed because of COVID-19. 

“My plan right now is that before we finish the fall we will have a plan in place for the spring sports and how we will manage the indoor portion of their seasons,” said Athletic Director Keith Hackett. 

Another factor in scheduling that Hacket has to deal with is providing opportunities for the fall sports to practice that are also going to compete in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19.

The addition of certain fall sports, COVID-19 protocols, poor weather conditions and the lack of indoor space will make scheduling difficult. Student-athletes will need to be flexible with whatever plan of action is put in place.

“It is going to suck because everyone’s class schedules are always different, so finding that common time between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., when no one has classes is going to be very difficult,” said junior shortstop Maxie Saceda-Hurt, who is a part of the Simpson softball program.   

The question of if certain teams will be given priority over others has also been on the mind of athletes.

“I don’t know how they will choose who gets the priority over the gym, people who should have already had their seasons or people who are in season,” said Alaira Tyus, student assistant for the women’s basketball team. 

With COVID-19 student-athletes are just looking for their opportunity to play the sport they love.

“It is kind of frustrating being a player and having all this uncertainty of what is going to be happening… I know we [men’s basketball team] have talked a lot about it and I know our guys, we just want to play,” said Jack Seward, a member of the men’s basketball team. 

 This level of uncertainty is contributed to one main variable, the current pandemic. By not knowing how the virus will enter the new year, the athletic department has no choice but to delay scheduling until further notice.