The SMU Mustangs’ women’s basketball team is the next one to opt out of the remainder of the 2020-21 season. The Duke Blue Devils women’s basketball team opted out of the rest of their season on Dec. 25, and the Mustangs (seen above against UConn in a 2017 game) have now followed them. Here’s that announcement:
The SMU women’s basketball team has decided to not play the remainder of the 2020-21 season due to health and safety concerns surrounding COVID-19.
Potential virus-related issues including the possibility of isolation, quarantine and season disruptions resulted in a decision by the student-athletes to opt out of the 2020-21 season. While all agreed that SMU had taken all possible steps and precautions to keep them healthy and safe, ultimately the women decided that the totality of the circumstances was resulting in an in-season experience that they did not wish to prolong.
“This was not a decision our student-athletes took lightly,” said Rick Hart, SMU Director of Athletics. “It was a difficult decision for them to make. That said, we support them, as we have supported the choices of our student-athletes in all sports whether they have elected to compete or to opt out. Our priority is their health, safety and wellbeing. We look forward to our women’s basketball program resuming competition in 2021-22.”
Other SMU programs will continue to compete as scheduled and are not impacted by this decision.
The SMU team was 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in AAC competition, so it’s not like they were too likely to get to the postseason. But it’s still significant to see them opting out, and that will have effects for other teams that were scheduled to play them (including the Cincinnati Bearcats, who had been set to face the Mustangs on Wednesday). And it will be interesting to see if other teams follow suit.
[SMU Mustangs; photo from Ray Carlin/USA Today Sports]
