The Pioneer Football League (PFL) has postponed their fall 2020 football schedule, the league announced on Friday.
The PFL membership is spread from coast-to-coast and throughout the Midwest which poses challenges related to team travel, as well as difficulties meeting applicable state, local and institutional health requirements and COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
The PFL previously announced that they would play a conference-only schedule in 2020, but that is now off the table. It remains to be seen whether the league will be able to play their 2020 season in the spring.
“The Presidents and Athletic Directors of our respective universities made this very difficult decision after extensive deliberations and consideration of many factors,” James M. Danko, President of Butler University and Chair of the PFL stated. “We recognize that our student-athletes will be disappointed, but our highest priority is the health and safety of all those involved in our athletic programs. Ultimately, the risks of proceeding are simply too high especially to ensure the safety of our students.”
The Pioneer Football League is the seventh Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference to cancel their fall sports, joining the Ivy League, Patriot League, Mid-Eastern Athletic Association (MEAC), Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), and Northeast Conference (NEC). Some conferences will attempt to play in the Spring of 2021, but exact plans haven’t been announced.
An eighth fall football cancellation in the FCS is expected to be made later on Friday, this one from the Big Sky Conference.