Thursday's News became Reality in Oklahoma State Athletic Dept. on Friday

There was a certain degree of shock that came with all the cancellations on Thursday of the most immediate being basketball, but softball to spring football and everybody in between began dealing with the reality on Friday.

STILLWATER --Hideaway Pizza is always a popular place on Campus Corner in Stillwater as the unique pizza choices are popular with students and towns folk alike. On Friday alone you could find current softball superstar Alysen Febrey sitting with her parents, who moved to Stillwater to watch their daughter's final collegiate season after she grad transferred from Georgia. A few feet away former Oklahoma State and NFL offensive lineman Derrel Gofourth, golfer David Edwards, founder of Chris' University Spirit Chris Norris and other eating and discussing the crazy events of the last 48 hours. Through a brick wall in another room Oklahoma State basketball staffers assistant coach Scott Sutton, advisor to the head coach John Cooper, and analyst Barry Henson were eating pizza and rushing off to attend an athletic department staff meeting. 

So much to discuss and so many moving parts to everything that is going on. Athletic director Mike Holder and deputy athletic director Chad Weiberg ran the meeting, but the question far outnumbered the answers. 

Some spring sport coaches want to keep their teams together despite the campus going to remote learning (online classes) for two weeks after next week's scheduled spring break. 

This memo came out from the Big 12 and Senior Associate Commisioner Bob Burda on Thursday afternoon:

The Big 12 Conference announces that beginning Friday, March 13, it is suspending all regular-season competitions, on- and off-campus recruiting, and out-of-season practices until Sunday, March 29.

The suspension of these athletic-related activities does not include campus-based practices for in-season sports, strength and conditioning activities for all sports, and does not apply to teams and individuals participating in NCAA Championship competition.

Earlier today the Conference announced the cancellation of Big 12 Championship events through April 15.  

Practices are allowed for in-season sports and there seems to be potential reason to keep the teams together. Softball was supposed to be in Georgia over spring break on a road trip, baseball at Dallas Baptist next week and then opening O'Brate Stadium with the conference opening series with TCU on March 20-22. Tennis, golf, and equestrian all had scheduled events. 

In the meeting it was raised how do they keep the athletes on campus and preserve the safety from COVID 19 (coronavirus). If training table is suspended then they will have to go eat. You know as young people they will be looking for things to do. Then you add that the rest of the student body on campus leaving for spring break to all 50 states and foreign countries will eventually be coming back and possibly bring some cases of the virus back with them.

Kasey Dunn, associate head coach and offensive coordinator, represented football and explained wanting to have their players back on campus and continuing spring football. The problem is those players are spreading out as we speak. Every place from beaches to reportedly cruises. I don't have to explain the problems that could come up there. 

"Everybody thinks the athletic department makes the rules, but that is not the case," said a member of the basketball staff. "The folks in the academic end are going to tell us what we're going to do and when students can be on campus. You know down in Texas (University of Texas) they just shut it down, shut down campus."

JUST IN: The University of Texas on Friday canceled all classes and operations as the threat of the new coronavirus grows in the region. https://t.co/LpjY1zEiFU

— Austin Statesman (@statesman) March 13, 2020

Just after the Oklahoma State athletic department met, which according to several coaches and staff the meeting was handled exceptionally by athletic director Mike Holder and deputy athletic director Chad Weiberg, then the Big 12 athletic directors met, so there could be a whole new set of circumstances and regulations coming out conference wide on Friday afternoon. 

This situation is changing by the minute, but one aspect that isn't going to change is student-athletes in the winter and spring sports have lost opportunities. Yes, the virus and containing it is the most important consideration right now. However, people have to live their lives and at some point college campuses will get back to activities like intercollegiate sports. 

The move started yesterday with comments from a number of people including University of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione and Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton. 

“I would like to see us look seriously at providing an additional year of eligibility for student-athletes who have lost the opportunity to compete,” Castiglione said Thursday in a conference call. “Certainly that starts with the student-athletes in their final year of eligibility. There’s not another way to get it back.”

“Yeah, I’m talking about basketball, my seniors, I’m talking about seniors at other places, but I’m also talking about spring sports," Boynton said on a teleconference call on Friday morning. "I watched our softball team last weekend, really, really good team. They’ve got some seniors on there who I think would become household names and have an opportunity to go on and do great things, our baseball team, our golf team, our tennis teams’ were supposed to host the National Championships this year. All the sports and all these kids, at the end of the day that’s what I do this for.”

By midday on Friday, it appeared the NCAA was fast tracking this, but it appeared that it was just spring sports for the meantime. 

The NCAA reportedly plans to grant spring student athletes relief for a season of eligibility after canceling winter and spring championships due to coronavirus https://t.co/3rCmjOVIPc

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 13, 2020

"I believe that is going to happen," Oklahoma State softball coach Kenny Gajewski told me on Friday afternoon. "I'm not sure on the details, but I know most of my girls that are seniors have already said they would want to stay and keep playing."

As for basketball and winter sports, wrestling would be huge at Oklahoma State, as seniors like 125 pound and NCAA Championships third-seed Nick Piccininni and red-shirt junior and fifth-seed at 149 pounds Boo Lewallen would both be deserving of another opportunity. 

"I don't think I would," senior basketball guard and captain Lindy Waters III told me when I ran into him getting a haircut. "I have me degree and I'm not interested in going to school. If I could play and not go to classes, then I would be interested."

In just about every facet of the cancellation or postponement of athletic activity due to the COVID 19 virus there are as many, if not more, questions popping up as there are answers and you can expect it to stay that way for awhile.