Forgive my ignorance but wasn’t it possible for some college athletes to put their academic carers on hold as well? I have a relative who plays for the Ivy League and did this, but the goals there are Team USA, world and olympic competition, etc.
If you are talking about gap years, yes, many athletes took a gap year. Not only at DI schools, but also some at NESCAC and other high profile D3 schools…especially where the team was likely to compete for a national championship this year. It’s on teams where the entire senior contingent took gaps that recruiting this year is relatively light, or even non-existent.
Practically all of the team took a LOA this academic year; a good number of them would have been juniors and seniors. They will still have one-two years of play with a relatively intact team assuming they return in the fall. Guessing that was a decision they all made understanding the landscape for up-and-comings this year.
In terms of coach’s aiming to build the best team, isn’t there some cases in male sports in particular where the older, more bulky guys have an advantage over 18 year olds? For the same reasons redshirting happens or why heisman trophy winners are not always star NFL rookies, couldn’t some coaches want to keep on graduates?
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not what i’m hearing from parents
@Mwfan1921 exactly
On to 2021 graduations, Hamilton College has said that only graduates can be in attendance at the May 23rd ceremony. No families. No parents.
There are a lot of players in lacrosse, a sport where the Ivy league teams are competitive, where the students have already jumped ship. Taking TWO years off is not going to leave the Ivy schools with intact teams (Ivies didn’t play 2020 0r 2021). Some figured out how to graduate with a degree from Princeton or Yale and start grad school at other, very competitive schools (Duke, Syracuse) and have a year or even two of play left. They can also get funding at those schools, either through lacrosse scholarships or through grad departments.
Yes, coaches would rather have a 23 year old with years of experience at the college level than an 18 year old who may not have played his senior year in high school, especially in years like this one with limited schedules and some other restrictions. They’ll figure it out for future years, take walk ons, take transfers. The difference between a freshman and an experience college player is usually pretty evident. In women’s lacrosse, high schools play two 25-minute halves but in college it is two 30-minute periods. I disagree that the freshmen are faster. They get winded fast. They don’t have the stick skills. They were top of the heap as hs seniors but are now playing against kids who are bigger, have experience, and were also top of the heap in high school.
Next year will have even more grad students playing. A guy I know is a senior but has his 2020 ‘red shirt’ year in his back pocket. He’ll play this year, graduate, and play somewhere else next year. He doesn’t care about the grad program, just about playing lax.
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Two of my son’s teammates are headed to the Ivy League next year. Other than the virtual component to the recruiting process, they’ve indicated it was business as usual.
we just returned from a fundraiser for our D23’s HS. it was different from the past of course. limited numbers, spread out, disposable products etc. But they did mention – no days lost at the school this year due to CV; and no cases reported in the last 4 months. I felt so hopeful hearing that. 
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UNC is planning for a return to much more normal college life in fall.
Will still likely have COVID tests and quarantine/isolation facilities, but masks may be optional, and they hope to return to fully in-person learning. As of now, they intend to return to near-full capacity in residence halls (only singles and doubles).
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I am glad that they finally made some official announcement. However, as a current parent have to say our family is suffering from once bite, twice shy syndrome, especially given they’re hedging their bets.
“We will continue operating with some level of uncertainty with this virus until it is controlled, so if the virus takes a different path, we will adjust our plans accordingly.”
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I feel like schools are in a tough spot. They can’t make 100% assurances about Fall and have to craft announcements with caveats and risk disappointment if full in person does not bear out. Almost better to say nothing. On the other hand, from a marketing perspective, if families are looking at a May 1st deadline approaching and full opening is a big factor in the decision - they need to put that out there if other schools are making these announcements. I’m taking everything with a grain of salt.
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How close to pre pandemic normal are schools and colleges in Texas returning to now with the governors executive order? Its spring now and vaccine roll out is happening so i guess “reopening 100%” isn’t as risky now even though the conservative side of me is dubious. But, hey, if they succeed then thats the answer for the next college year everywhere.
Considering every medical expert has said what Governor Abbott did was a huge mistake and that Texas numbers are still huge plus the variants are out there, I would expect Texas is going to see a 4th surge before the rest of the states and wouldn’t be surprised if they wind up in much worse shape than many of the other states. I have said this before but I thank god every day my daughter down there is vaccinated.
UT btw, announced the other day that they are business as usual for this year and keeping their mask mandate in tact.
Yes, schools are all in a tough spot now and were in a tough spot in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Yet, different schools took different paths (for example the two Carolinas).
D21 basically has a COVID factor in her decision model essentially calculated as:
Fall 2021 announced plan x discount factor for what you actually did Fall/Spring 2020-21
D21 is also aware of the frankly appalling behavior of some of the people in CH that let students know in no uncertain terms they were unwelcome.
It’s one of the bigger factors keeping her from saying yes to UNC over other options.
Some Texas counties have moved on to vaccinating everyone over 18, so between more shots for students and probably a pretty high natural infection rate among college students here, I am betting against a 4th wave. Some colleges like Baylor never seemed to change much from normal anyway. I expect mask will continue at most this Spring, and then be gone by the Fall.
Surely places where college students are already being vaccinated, like NC, are planning a normal fall.
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A friend just posted that her 18 year old was able to get vaccinated in TX
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Only if you consider masks and 2x per week mandatory testing normal. UNC’s announcement said masks may continue as well as the testing program.
Chapel Hill, NC and TX are different places on the spectrum. I’ll just leave it at that 
.
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In the fall the colleges will do as much as their local government can say they can as always. The factors I can foresee for September as things currently stand is
The amount of vaccine hesitancy in the local area
How well the area organised getting the vaccines Biden promised them by June ( all adults) into peoples arms.
How much the vaccine reduces case numbers and hospitalisation in real terms especially in light of variants
If there is an ongoing surge due to places opening up too early like Texas, as discussed above
If a college town has a high vulnerable population and the ICUs are still overrun by cases during Fall then they will be still limited in what they can allow.
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I think it’s a good idea to vaccinate young people at this point. Maybe it doesn’t feel morally right when they are the least at risk, but they are the ones spreading the variants and that impacts us all.
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