LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward Says SEC Baseball Tournament, Spring Game Will Both be Cancelled
With so much that's unknown about LSU sports in the near and distant future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward held a teleconference to give some preliminary updates on what the athletic department is facing.
One of the more important revelations Woodward made during the 20 minute phone conversation was that LSU's Spring Game, which was scheduled for April 18, will be cancelled. This comes as little surprise to many as currently the SEC has banned all athletic events, including practices until April 15.
Woodward also said that an official announcement should be made as early as tomorrow by the conference, that the SEC baseball tournament would also officially be cancelled in the near future. The SEC left the tiniest of windows open for the tournament to be played if sports were to resume on April 15.
"You can rest assure it will be canceled and they'll have an announcement probably tomorrow," Woodward said.
So with spring sports on the backburner, the focus from an athletic department standpoint will shift to how it can prepare for the fall sports over the coming months.
"That's gonna be the focus going forward is what we do for our fall sports because obviously the championships for spring sports are concluded," Woodward said. "So it is going to be how do we get up and prepare for our fall sports and that is in flux and that is being discussed, both at the NCAA and the SEC level."
Most of the issues posed to Woodward during Monday's press conference are down the road questions the department will have to hammer out, including what to do about spring practice should the football team be allowed to practice down the line.
"We'll worry about how we prepare for the fall sports in the appropriate time, whether that's allowing more practices or it's doing things differently by sport, but that's to be determined," Woodward said.
The cancellation of the spring game and SEC tournament comes as little surprise but Woodward was also asked about the student-athletes that are still on campus and how they will be treated. While some have gone home, Woodward said there are roughly 120 student-athletes still on campus but does expect that number to continue to go down.
In the meantime, the athletic department is making all the necessary arrangements to make sure those athletes that are still on campus, are being taken care of.
"Our essential needs for our student-athletes [that stay on campus] are going to be taken care of," Woodward said. "Whether that’s food, medical attention, the academic center is open, but I’m sure that’s all changing as we’re talking."
The health and safety of the student-athletes is of utmost importance to Woodward and the athletic department, which is why the training room is one of the only buildings that will remain open.
"We have our medical staff on alert and our training room is one of the offices that will remain open during this time," Woodward said. "We're in touch, I know our coaches are in touch with our student-athletes and calling them and making sure that all their wants and needs are met with obviously the priority being their health and the health of the community.
"I want to assure everyone that we will be back together as an LSU family in due time, but the most important thing, and the priority now, is our collective effort to stop the spread of this virus."
