The decision wasn’t easy but it was obvious.
After all, courtesy of the novel coronavirus, the Triple Crown horse races — Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes — were moved to September, ditto the Masters golf tournament.
The NBA is talking, tentatively, about a return in June while the National Hockey League’s season might already be over. Major League baseball is hoping for a mid-May restart without much conviction.
March Madness is already history and so are collegiate spring sports.
Pro golf — PGA and LPGA — are on hold and so is auto racing — NASCAR and IndyCar — and the Major League Soccer, National Lacrosse League and XFL seasons are already over.
Thus, it occurred to me that COVID-19 had forced my own hand.
As a result, this year’s presentation of the 40th annual Bob Davies-Lou Foy Big 30 Scholar-Athlete Award has been canceled.
Virtually all of the area’s schools in New York and Pennsylvania are closed until the middle of April … and likely longer. Spring sports at all of them are little more than a pipe dream, especially given the precautions taken at the pro and collegiate levels.
After Easter, I normally send out nomination forms for a male and female candidate from each of 30 schools. Nominees must be seniors, have participated in two varsity sports and two extra curricular activities, hold high academic standing and aspire to post-scholastic education. The strongest candidates include letters of recommendation.
But with the resumption of school uncertain, if it reconvenes at all, the fourth semester is iffy, at best, and it’s hard to conjure a scenario where spring sports will be contested.
And, even if both happen, asking students and teachers to be concerned with applying for a scholar-athlete award wouldn’t be a high priority with so much else to address in such a short span.
Then, too, losing the last semester academically and athletically could well factor into what has historically been a tightly-contested competition.
Hopefully, next spring, the Davies-Foy presentation can be completed as in previous years.
(Chuck Pollock, a Bradford Publishing senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
