UW Oshkosh and four other UW System institutions – UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Platteville – have temporarily suspended collegiate athletics at their access campuses for the 2020-21 academic year.

The one-year pause in sports reflects the additional challenges of facility cleaning and disinfecting, providing athletic trainers and other logistical issues posed by the current coronavirus pandemic.

Student-athletes attending the 10 two-year campuses represented by the five universities, including UWO’s Fond du Lac and Fox Cities access campuses, compete in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference.

“Collegiate athletics contribute to student life on our access campuses in many ways, and also provide value in recruitment and retention efforts for the Fox Cities and Fond du Lac campuses,” said Nathan Scott, UWO’s director of student recreation and wellness. “The decision to implement a one-year moratorium for collegiate athletics was not easy. However given the challenges associated with the global pandemic, this is one of many difficult decisions that had to be made.”

During the 2019-20 academic year, 29 students at the UWO Fond du Lac campus competed in three collegiate sports: golf, soccer and basketball. Last year, 41 students at the UWO Fox Cities campus participated in four sports: women’s volleyball, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and soccer.

“As we continue to work through the execution of our Titans Return plan to bring students and employees back to campus safely, we will continue to look toward the future, identifying opportunities to enhance the student-athlete experience on the Fox Cities and Fond du Lac campuses,” Scott said.