LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Catholic School Athletic Association (CSAA) of Louisville announced Wednesday that its schools will not have fall sports this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The association includes Louisville Catholic schools for grades K-8.
Fr. Tom Gentile, the Chair of the CSAA Board of Directors, posted the decision on the CSAA Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.
“After much discussion, the board decided that in our current environment, we cannot safely offer fall sports,” Gentile said.
The fall seasons for football, volley and cross-county have been canceled, according to the CSAA announcement. Members and parishes within the association cannot offer, sponsor or field any of these sports.
Fr. Gentile said the decision was made to keep players, officiants and fans safe and healthy.
“At this time, safety must be our only concern,” Gentile said.
A decision on fall sports has not been made for Louisville Catholic high schools.
With 30,000 players, the CSAA is the largest Catholic school athletic association in the country. The association offers 14 sports including football, basketball, volleyball and swimming.
Schools within the Archdiocese of Louisville are set to reopen with in-person classes as planned at the end of August, despite Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s recommendation that schools hold off on in-person instruction until Sept. 28.
Kentucky public school students will learn whether or not they will be returning to the field this fall after the Kentucky High School Athletic Association meets Thursday morning. Kentucky Senate Majority leadership sent a letter to the association, urging it to let each district decide for themselves how to move forward with fall sports.
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