SWOSU, GAC announce spring sports plans

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Football not scheduled for spring 2021

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  • The Great American Conference and SWOSU have announced some fall sports will be played this spring. Football will not be played this spring, according the GAC information released Monday. Provided
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RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas — The Great American Conference announced second-semester start dates for the conference sports of men’s & women’s basketball, volleyball, and women’s soccer.

GAC basketball will feature a 20-game divisional schedule, beginning Thursday, January 7, with SWOSU in Ada to face East Central before hosting Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday, January 9.

GAC volleyball will implore a 10-week, 10-match divisional schedule which opens Tuesday, January 26, and runs through Tuesday, March 30. SWOSU volleyball opens the season at Southern Nazarene January 26 and they’ll play their first match inside the Pioneer Cellular Event Center February 2 against East Central.

GAC women’s soccer will feature a 7-week schedule in which each team will play six conference contests and SWOSU opens the season Saturday, February 27, by hosting Northwestern Oklahoma State.

“I can’t say enough about the work done by our presidents and administrators to place the GAC in a position to safely resume competition,” GAC Commissioner Will Prewitt said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, and we are keeping our fingers crossed regarding public health conditions across Arkansas and Oklahoma, but we are hopeful to see the lights go back on for games January 7.”

In addition, it was announced SWOSU will host the 2021 spring GAC Cross Country Championships Saturday, February 27. Formats and dates for the men’s soccer regular season as well as the championships for basketball, volleyball and soccer will be determined at a later date.

“Our student-athletes have been working diligently this fall while patiently awaiting their return to competition and we are looking forward to them getting that opportunity beginning in January,” SWOSU Athletic Director Todd Helton said. “I would like to commend our coaches for approaching the fall semester with a positive outlook and making the best of the situation they were in. We can’t wait to see our teams back in action this spring.”

Members will play spring sports schedules as previously approved by the conference’s Council of Athletic Administrators and Council of Presidents. SWOSU baseball opens its 33-game conference schedule February 19-20 against Arkansas-Monticello while SWOSU softball is moving to a 33-game conference schedule, with play beginning February 26-27 against Southern Arkansas. Each team can open its regular season with non-conference competition beginning at the start of February.

The conference office also released a fall 2021 football schedule that kicks off a full 11-game round-robin slate Thursday, September 2, with SWOSU hosting Henderson State.

The Great American Conference will continue to evaluate NCAA, federal, state, and local developments and provide updated revisions as further information becomes available.