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Following recent announcements that several fall sports have seen significant changes to their schedules as a result of the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, the Nicholls State University athletics department is working to find new opponents and make adjustments ahead of the upcoming season.
The football program was set to kick off its 2020 season in John L. Guidry Stadium against Southwestern Athletic Conference competitor Mississippi Valley State University on Sept. 5.
However, the SWAC announced last week that all fall sports competitions in the conference have been postponed to the spring of 2021, effectively cancelling the Colonels’ matchup against the Delta Devils.
Now, the first game on the team’s schedule is a road competition against Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
For the Colonels, who have not kicked off their season at home since 2017 and have only done so twice since 2011, the loss of an opener in Thibodaux is especially significant.
“You want an opportunity for your student-athletes to get an opportunity to mesh, to play and play in front of a home stadium. If you look at that schedule, we were home, and then were away, and then we were home, and then we were away and away,” Athletics Director Jonathan Terrell said. “To open up at home is such a big deal for confidence…Pushing it back a week is a little bit of a damper, but I think we all understand what the big picture is.”
Shortly after the cancellation of the football program’s first game, the Southland Conference announced that it would be pushing back the start of its volleyball and soccer seasons to Sept. 1.
“The membership of the Southland Conference remains focused on the safety and health of its student-athletes, coaches and other participants, and this delay allows athletic departments to continue following recommended protocols and guidelines set forth by the NCAA, and local health, government and institutional leaders,” the SLC said in a statement.
For Nicholls’ women’s volleyball and soccer programs, such a delay means the loss of roughly three to four games each to start off their respective seasons.
“Soccer lost three games. Volleyball lost a tournament or two,” Terrell said. “What it means to all of those student-athletes that are just working so hard and getting ready to play their season…for all of them, it’s definitely a setback.”
Terrell, who took over as Nicholls’ athletics director on July 6, said that he is working in conjunction with Head Volleyball Coach Kallie Noble and Head Soccer Coach Danny Free to schedule new games to take the place of those that were lost.
In addition, he is in the process of trying to secure a new opponent for the football team for its week one slot.
The biggest challenge, he said, is finding teams that are available.
“It’s about the experience, so we’ve got to give [the athletes] the opportunity to play as many games as they can,” Terrell said.
Many questions surrounding fall sports seasons are still in discussion as of now, including start dates and the presence of fans at games.
However, Terrell said he thinks the athletics department will know more information by the end of the week.
In the meantime, Nicholls is planning for every potential scenario.
“We’re trying to plan for every situation, so with fans at 50 percent capacity [and] six-feet apart, without fans, with just season ticket holders,” Terrell.
He said it is possible that the total capacity available for football games in Guidry Stadium, which can regularly hold 10,500 fans, may fall around 3,100 fans with measures put into place.
While waiting for more answers surrounding fall athletics to become available, Terrell encourages Colonel fans, students and coaches to focus on controlling the controllable and looking forward to exciting seasons for its fall teams.
Above all, he said the university’s priority right now is protecting its athletes and fans.
“We’re preparing as if this is about to be one of the best seasons that we’ve ever had in all of our athletics,” Terrell said. “I think that the one thing fans can be sure of is that, no matter what happens, if they allow us to play and have fans, that they’re going to get ready to see a really good football season, soccer season [and] volleyball season.”
