U-M Dearborn Reverses Course, Allows Spring Sports To Return

DEARBORN, MI – Two days after announcing it would cancel its spring sports season for the second straight year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the University of Michigan-Dearborn reversed course on Friday, saying that athletes would again be permitted to play beginning next month.

The decision comes after university officials learned Thursday that other member schools within the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference were committing to more stringent health guidelines, university officials announced on Friday.

“The university is committed to returning our student-athletes to appropriate activities as soon as it is safe to do so,” interim athletic director Bryan Earl said in a news release.

The decision to commit to spring sports was made after consulting with conference officials and with the university’s chief health officer, Earl said. The move is contingent on teams adhering to health and safety guidelines — including testing and masks — during competition to U-M Dearborn.

The school’s athletic department has worked with health officials to develop a plan to return to practice and competition. The plan includes ongoing testing of athletes, mandatory face-coverings during contact and non-contact training and competition and modifications to the university’s fieldhouse to promote social distancing and safety measures.

On Wednesday, the school announced it would not allow its athletes to compete, citing a lack of guarantees that other schools within the conference would adhere to an enhanced list of health and safety guidelines, school officials said.

Athletes at the school learned they would not be permitted to play in an email on Wednesday night, WDIV-TV reported. The decision had players hoping to return to the field feeling angry and frustrated.

“Back in December, I got a shoulder surgery done just so I could play in my senior year, and now it just got taken away from me for really no reason at all,” said Melissa Charbonneau, a senior outfielder on U-M Dearborn’s softball team, told the station.

However, on Thursday, the school learned that conference officials were working with member schools to implement more stringent health and safety guidelines, including on-going testing and the wearing of masks. Athletes impacted by the Wednesday decision made a plea to the school's Board of Regents at a meeting to reconsider their decision.

School officials learned Thursday that the conference is committed to implementing a league-wide policy that would ensure the health and safety of all student-athletes, officials said Friday. The commitment to the guidelines by the conference and other schools met the standards set by U-M Dearborn, which led to the decision to move ahead with the spring season. Even before Friday's announcement, the school had announced it was honoring athletic scholarships even if athletes weren't permitted to participate in their respective sports.

Students at Michigan-Dearborn have remained on a remote learning basis but are scheduled to return to in-person learning on March 1. School officials said they are working on a plan that allows for a “closer to normal” semester in the fall while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of students, school officials said.