MSU President's Column for Traill County Tribune
September 12, 2020
Fall sports intercollegiate games are underway!
We’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to watch our student-athletes as they compete at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse and Jerome Berg Field in the fall sports season. The excitement of home games was unleashed last Sunday, when the Comets volleyball team hosted Valley City State and Hastings (Neb.) College. The Comets came out on top in both contests! The Comets lost a nail-biter to Dakota Wesleyan in Valley City on Saturday. Congratulations to Coach Johnson and her team for a great start to the season!
The Comets football team will host Waldorf on Saturday, Sept. 12 in their first game of the 2020 season. Not only is this the first game of the season, it’s also the first game with head coach Rocky Larson at the helm. Coach Larson and his staff have worked extremely hard to assemble a team of outstanding young men who can play football. We wish them all the best as the fruits of their labors begin to unfold.
Comet Football has received fabulous support from the alumni football fundraising club known as the White Hat Club. Through their financial support, they are helping to build the program and keep it moving in a positive direction. We are truly grateful for the support of the White Hats and it will be our honor to recognize these above-and-beyond supporters at half time of the game on Saturday. To learn more about the White Hat Club, go to www.mayvillestate.edu/whitehats.
Complications and the uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic have made it no easy feat to get to this point. Seasons have been shortened and original schedules have been altered. All student-athletes were tested for COVID-19 and quarantined for several days upon arrival on campus. New guidelines have been put in place. All this has been done with the ultimate goal of keeping student-athletes, coaches, and fans safe and healthy.
Now that the fall season is underway, it’s extremely important that we do everything we can to keep student-athletes, coaches, staff, and spectators healthy so that we can keep going and finish out the season. Out of respect for this, several new guidelines have been developed by our athletic director Ryan Hall through the North Star Athletic Association and Centers for Disease Control guidelines.
For indoor contests, masks are mandated for all spectators and game management personnel. Only coaches and players are not required to wear masks. As of now, capacity is 500 for all indoor sporting events at Mayville State. Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, except for tickets which have been reserved for student-athlete parents. Social distancing of six feet is strongly encouraged for all who attend games. Family units may sit in close proximity, but should remain distanced from others.
Masks are strongly encouraged for all spectators and game management personnel who enter Jerome Berg Field. We are currently working to determine spectator capacity for outdoor guidelines and will make that known as soon as a final decision has been made. Social distancing of six feet is strongly encouraged. Again, family units may sit close together, but they are encouraged to distance from others. We ask that fans consider sitting in the grassy areas and the end zones to accommodate social distancing.
There has been heightened interest in tailgating at Mayville State this fall. We expect to see a busy tailgating area. Masks are strongly encouraged for all tailgaters, and social distancing of six feet is strongly encouraged.
Concessions, both at the Lewy Lee and Jerome Berg Field, will look a little different this fall. To comply with guidelines related to the pandemic, all servings will be pre-packaged.
We realize that the new guidelines and rules may be inconvenient and restrictive, but it is a small compromise for keeping our friends and neighbors safe and healthy. I encourage you to come out and cheer for the Comets, but please do so with safety in mind. If you prefer to avoid the crowds, you can keep up-to-date with Comet Athletics at www.msucomets.com. There, you’ll find a link to livestream the games.
One of the ways in which we can help to slow or stop the spread of the coronavirus is through COVID-19 testing. Plans are currently underway for a free testing event for the campus and community to be held on Sept. 15. While plans are not final, we will strongly encourage all students studying on campus, staff, and faculty to participate, and we invite you to do so as well. A safe and healthy campus community is our top priority and helping to keep our friends and neighbors in the community healthy is a part of the package deal.