News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Tennessee Tech University’s main concern for student athletes is not sports related, but academic related as classes transition to online Monday.
Athletic Director Mark Wilson said it is their goal to provide their athletes with the appropriate adjustments to be successful in their new learning experience.
“The biggest challenge is really preparing our student athletes for new academic work,” Wilson said. “All the learning at Tennessee Tech is going to be online learning and remote learning for the remainder of the semester.”
President Phil Oldham announced on March 12th all classes would be online after the extended spring break. The following week, the Ohio Valley Conference cancelled all sporting events for the spring, including OVC championships. Both decisions were made due to the corona virus.
“There’s a lot more questions than answers, but right now, I think they [student athletes] are feeling a lot of sadness, because their seasons came to an abrupt end, and they didn’t get to complete the season,” Wilson said. “There wasn’t really an opportunity to say goodbye to their teammates, if they don’t come back for another year”
The spring schedule cancellations included 37 baseball games, 29 softball games, seven men’s and women’s golf matches, and nine indoor track meets.
According to the NCAA, Divisions II and III granted spring athletes an additional season of eligibility, while Division I legislation is set to be finalized later.
“Our strength and conditioning team has provided coaches and student athletes workouts they can do from home,” Wilson said. “Workouts they can do with no weights to fuel that competitive spirit they all have.”
Wilson said fans missing their Golden Eagles can visit TTUsports.com for throwback feature stories.
