One day after the University System of Maryland announced all classes for the remainder of the spring semester will take place online, the Maryland athletics department announced the cancellation of all organized team activities through the end of the school year.
Organized team activities had originally been suspended until April 6 — including practices, in-person meetings and banquets — but as the coronavirus spreads, additional precautions have been taken. With it, Maryland football’s Pro Day and spring game have been canceled, a team spokesperson said.
[Read more: NCAA grants “eligibility relief” to all spring sports players after COVID-19 outbreak]
As of Friday morning, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Maryland increased to 149. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that a Prince George’s County man in his 60s with an underlying health condition had died after contracting the virus, the first coronavirus-related death in the state.
The Terps’ Pro Day had been scheduled for March 25 and was already pushed back once before this final cancellation. And the spring game was anticipated to take place on April 25 — the same day as Maryland Day — yet both will not occur.
Additionally, a team spokesperson said all individual workouts have been suspended until further notice. Any rentals of Maryland athletics facilities until May 20 have also been canceled or postponed, while camps and clinics scheduled through May 20 will be canceled or rescheduled.
[Read more: Big Ten cancels all spring sports due to coronavirus]
The Big Ten had already canceled all spring sporting competitions, putting an end to a slew of seasons that were just getting off the ground. That was after the NCAA had canceled the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments.
Amid the cancellations, the NCAA’s Division I Council Coordination Committee announced on March 13 that spring sports athletes will receive another year of eligibility — leaving the door open for seniors to continue their careers. But as Maryland softball coach Mark Montgomery told The Diamondback on Tuesday over the phone, it remains to be seen how the theory will work in practice.
“It was really nice of them to say that they want to give everybody their season back,” Montgomery said. “But now the logistics of how to do it is what kind of takes precedence.”