The Mountain West athletic conference released a statement concerning fall and winter collegiate sports almost one month after its complete postponement of all fall athletic activity due to COVID-19 precautions.

Other winter and spring sports seasons are currently expected to proceed as originally planned and would be conducted concurrently with the rescheduled sports in what would be a robust spring offering.” -Mountain West update

Posted on its website, the update looks to re-establish the conference’s support of student athletes during uncertain times, but notably presents little new information regarding any type of immediate return-to-play guidelines.

“Physical and mental health and well-being for the conference’s student-athletes and staff remains the priority in these efforts,” the update said. “Every effort is being made to overcome the existing multi-state obstacles within this complex issue to enable a data-driven decision that maximizes the opportunity for the Mountain West’s student-athletes to complete.”

In order to create the safest, most well-rounded approach to resuming athletic activity, a wide variety of parties partake in frequent meetings to consider how to move forward. The update indicates that the consulted parties include the Mountain West board of directors, athletic directors, student-athlete representatives and multiple other groups.

The update maintains the Mountain West’s stance of hoping to play fall sports in the spring.

“Other winter sports and spring sports seasons are currently expected to proceed as originally planned and would be conducted concurrently with the rescheduled sports in what would be a robust spring offering,” the update said.

If all health and safety precautions are met, fans could be in for a more diverse spring athletics season than ever before. 

Other conferences that previously halted fall sports are tentative but eager in response to rumors of earlier returns to athletics, especially for revenue boosters like football.

The Big Ten, one of the most influential conferences to postpone fall football, appears to be the closest to restarting operations. ESPN reported that the Big Ten could be looking to resume play as early as late November.

Scott Nies can be reached at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @scott_nies98.

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