Vandals, thank you for being patient with us during this difficult and unique situation.
 
After many calls and discussions with President Green, the Dean of Students and the Big Sky Conference office, I wanted to share with everyone the steps that we are taking to ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes and the campus as a whole.
 
The first is cancelling all competitions and championships for spring sports. While no one wanted to see the loss of a season, it proved to be the best decision for everyone involved.
 
As directed by the Big Sky, all practices and workouts will be canceled until further notice. Student-athletes who choose to return to campus will be allowed to utilize our open facilities, but on a volunteer basis only with no coaches or team equipment present. The conference will reassess the situation in the coming weeks.
 
Our institution has made the decision to stay open, with classes being held online following spring break.  All students will be welcome back to campus, should they choose to return, with the dorms and food service operations running, next weekend. Our Director of Student-Athlete Support Services, Krista Gray, and her staff will be hard at work adjusting to the new format. I have the utmost confidence in their ability to ensure the preparedness of our student-athletes in the classroom, regardless of where it's located.
 
Our athletic training facility will need to take extra precautions to ensure the health of our student-athletes.  While Chris Walsh and his staff already do an excellent job in taking care of the needs of our more than 300 student-athletes, their extra efforts will go a long way in helping keep us all safe.
 
Take care of yourselves, Vandals. We'll be back and better than ever before you know it.
 
Be safe all!
Terry Gawlik
Director of Athletics
University of Idaho