West Coast Conference delays start of fall season until Sept. 24

The West Coast Conference announced July 16 it is delaying competition in all fall sports until Sept. 24, pushing back the start date for BYU women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and both men’s and women’s cross country.

“As we make plans for our fall athletic seasons, we appreciate the dialogue and attention the WCC has gone through to review the variety of circumstances at member schools and consider the safety of our student-athletes,” BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe said in a statement. “We are in the process of working on our fall sports schedules given the parameters provided by the WCC and appreciate the flexibility to schedule non-conference competition with other universities.”

This plan differs from those of other conferences in that it does not prohibit non-conference play, offering more opportunities for BYU as it looks to adjust and re-organize their schedules with the new start date.

The BYU press release also specified that men’s and women’s basketball, whose seasons are scheduled to begin in November and who also play in the WCC, are unaffected by this announcement.

Since BYU Football is independent and does not play in the WCC, it is unaffected by the announcement. However, due to restrictions from other conferences, the team is currently without its first four games of the season. The matchup against Utah State on Oct. 2 is the first game still on the schedule at this point, meaning BYU fans will have to wait a few more months before any Cougar sports are played.