Illinois State opts out of remainder of 2021 spring football season
NORMAL, Ill. (BVM) — The Covid-19 pandemic forced shuffling of seasons among many sports. One of those was moving the college football season from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021. While the majority of FBS and Power 5 schools ended up playing in the fall, the FCS season was moved to the spring.
Illinois State University (ISU) was one of the FCS teams who began its season several weeks ago. However, after just four games in, they are pulling the plug on this year’s campaign. The main reasoning behind the decision is health and safety of players, and making sure they are ready for the full 2021 fall season coming up in just a few months.
“I have wrestled with this decision for a couple weeks now, but I feel like it’s a necessary move to protect our player’s health and safety and their ability to be ready come this fall,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said in a statement. “Injuries at key positions, especially on the defensive line where we suffered two more setbacks yesterday, have made it nearly impossible for us to play this week and extremely difficult for us to compete in the remaining four games.”
With games moved to the spring, several Redbirds players had already opted out of the season, deciding to transfer or pursue an NFL career. As a result, ISU had a tough go of it early in the spring season, despite initially being ranked in the top-25. The team began 0-3 before finally picking up its lone victory against Western Illinois.
The Redbirds were scheduled to still play South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, North Dakota and Missouri State. But now, they will look ahead to the 2021 fall season, and have the full support of their athletic director.
“I fully support Brock and his decision to cut the season short, especially when it comes to the health, safety and development of our student-athletes,” ISU athletic director Kyle Brennan said. “The University, staff, donors and fans have dedicated their time and resources to make the previous four games this spring a success.”
It’s a tough break for athletes who gave it their all to be on the field one last time this spring. But in the end, it’s likely a smart decision that many other schools have and will follow in preparation for what hopefully is a relatively normal fall season.
