Boston University announced Wednesday that due to a rise in positive COVID-19 tests as the campus repopulates for the spring semester, the BU Department of Athletics and its varsity programs will immediately undergo a pause of all athletic activities for the remainder of January.
The decision was made by the administration after consultation with BU Student Health Services.
The four basketball and hockey programs are all currently in season and their scheduled games for the upcoming weekend have been postponed and will be rescheduled. The remainder of the teams are set to resume practice in February. This pause will include all team and individual training sessions.
“By and large, our student-athletes and staff have done a remarkable job in helping to stop the spread of this virus within their teams and our department,” said BU director of athletics Drew Marrochello in a statement. “However, at this time, we feel that pausing all activities is a prudent decision that will better our chances of safely returning all of our teams to practice and competition in the coming weeks.”
The spring semester began on Monday, Jan. 25, and all returning students were required to receive three negative COVID tests over the course of a seven-day quarantine before being allowed in shared spaces on campus.
Later this week, a determination will be made on how this pause will impact events scheduled beyond this weekend.
