Ram Family, Ram Friends and Ram Fans,
Amid today's unprecedented events across athletics of all levels, I wanted to be sure to update everyone on the current state of CSU Men's Lacrosse and what the rest of the 2020 season holds.
In the simplest terms, Colorado State University has canceled all near-term travel and games for the Men's Lacrosse Team.
While an official long-term decision has not yet been announced, the Coaches, CSU Lacrosse Alumni Board, and CSU Personnel believe that the entire 2020 Men's Lacrosse season could be canceled. Classes will now be delivered online through April 10th and "all university events… are suspended effective March 23 through April 10." Additionally, "The MCLA… Executive Committee (will) meet Thursday evening to further its assessment and establish protocol for the remainder of the 2020 season."
Current Status of Upcoming Team Activities
The Team has canceled its trip to Texas tomorrow, and the Program has been granted refunds for our hotel and car bookings.
We are working with Southwest Airlines in an effort to receive refunds of our flight costs and believe it is likely we'll be granted that refund.
Upon return from Spring Break, it is unclear whether or not the Team will be allowed to continue practicing.
Both upcoming home games against UCSB and Cal Poly are also canceled. Both of those Universities have instituted travel restrictions and suspended their lacrosse teams' activities.
The CSU Lacrosse trip to California is canceled.
The Team will initiate steps to collect refunds for its California trip tomorrow.
Subsequent home games have been canceled through April 11th but again, all remaining games, both home and away, could be canceled.
Next Steps
As the Team's travel refunds continue to be processed, Team Treasurer Sean Greenwell and I will assess the Team's finances, and issue dues refunds to players/families should the season eventually be fully canceled. Please allow us a bit of time to process the information and decide on an exact course of action.
My deepest sympathies go out to the players on this year's Team. It's especially difficult for the seniors, and everyone should take a moment to acknowledge how unfortunate this is for the guys who poured their heart and soul into this Program for four years (some longer). I am very proud of all my fellow Rams, and while I'm not sure what the future holds for them, please rest assured, we will continue to explore and exhaust all options available to the Program.
A tremendous thank you is due to Coach MacDonald, Coach Sullivan, and Coach Flax. Their tireless work will not be in vain. I am also proud of what they have accomplished so far this year and know the best is yet to come for this great coaching staff.
University Communication
Lastly, we all should thank CSU Assistant Club Sports Director Cindy Tse, and Campus Recreation Executive Director Cody Frye. Cindy and Cody were put in an incredibly difficult position of disseminating the bad news late last night. They were forced to tell several different CSU teams, all at once, that their seasons' were being suspended (some of whom were getting ready to travel to their own national championships over spring break). Their communication with the Men's Lacrosse Team occurred promptly this morning and ultimately allowed the Program to save a tremendous amount of money. Cindy and Cody were on the side of the Lacrosse Team and lobbied for the Team to be allowed to continue on with its season.
CSU President Joyce McConnell and CSU Senior Leadership believe there are much higher stakes at the moment, and as unfortunate as it is for the Lacrosse team, that decision was made, which we all must respect.
As we've all now seen, the NCAA Basketball Tournament will be played without fans in attendance, and entire Division I conferences are canceling spring sports. COVID-19 is much more significant than a lot of us initially believed it could be, so please wash your hands regularly and follow the CDC's guidance.
Thank you for reading, and please continue to look out for additional updates regarding the CSU Men's Lacrosse 2020 season.
Go Rams,
Garrett Fitzgerald
CSU Men’s Lacrosse GM & CSULAA Chairman
alumni@csulacrosse.com
www.csulacrosse.com
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From: President Joyce McConnell Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 4:51 PM To: All Students, Faculty, Staff and Associates Subject: Important public health message to the CSU campus community
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
With the courageous commitment of our Colorado State University community, CSU has faced many challenges. Today, we face a global health crisis in which we can play a critical role by slowing transmission of COVID-19 and freeing our local hospital to treat the critically ill. We can and must do our part to safeguard the health of our entire community. I thank all of you in advance for your compassion for others and patience in navigating a complex situation.
We have no knowledge of any cases of COVID-19 associated either with our residence halls or with the university more broadly.
Nevertheless, as you know, we are in daily consultation with public health officials at local, state and national levels and following their science-based guidance. As a result, we are taking the following steps immediately to do our part, which includes the following:
Classes Moving Online: Spring Break for students and faculty will be extended through Tuesday, March 24, with classes resuming Wednesday, March 25, as follows:
Classes at all levels will be delivered online beginning Wednesday, March 25.
Online teaching and course delivery will remain in effect until April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date.
Individual academic units will follow up with their students regarding accommodations for accessibility issues—including online and computer access, internships, laboratory classes, and other special circumstances.
Our fundamental mission is to educate our students and we are committed to preserving their educational access, opportunity and success for the remainder of this semester, regardless of circumstances.
Campus Operations: Campus operations will remain at normal levels. University buildings will operate as follows:
The CSU Health Network will be open regular hours, including over Spring Break, to see students for medical and counseling concerns.
Residence halls, university apartments, and dining halls will remain open as usual, including over Spring Break.
The Lory Student Center, Student Rec Center, UCA, and all academic, business, and service buildings will remain open for business as usual.
The Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Diagnostic Lab will remain open for business as usual.
The Morgan Library will be open for campus community members only.
We will provide guidance for employees who need to work remotely; this will be shared soon.
University Travel: All university international and domestic travel that has not yet commenced is suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on critical need. More information on the exception process will be shared soon.
On-Campus Events: All university events involving 20 or more external visitors or targeted toward an at-risk population are suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on significant need. More information about the exception process will be shared soon.
Off-campus Events: All university-hosted off-campus events involving 20 or more people or targeted toward an at-risk population are suspended effective March 23 through April 10. We will re-evaluate and issue further guidelines in advance of that date. Exceptions may be granted based on significant need. More information about the exception process will be shared soon.
These actions will obviously have a profound effect on our campus. In the coming days, we will be working through the many questions that will emerge from these immediate actions to provide additional guidance and clarity.
I fully understand the burden this puts on many in our community who will have to rearrange plans and rework how they conduct the university's daily business. I deeply appreciate the hard work so many of you have done and will continue to do throughout this public health crisis.
Confronting the challenges of a public health emergency like this creates discomfort and anxiety. Please know that Colorado State University is no stranger to responding to unexpected events that cause disruption in our lives and require that we dramatically and quickly alter our established paths. We have done so successfully in the past, and we will do so successfully again now.
We will continue to provide updates and guidance as soon and as often as possible via email, social media, and at http://safety.colostate.edu/coronavirus.
I am thankful for each of you. I want you all to stay safe and healthy during this difficult situation. That is our primary goal, now and always, at CSU. Please take care of yourselves, of your friends and families, and of those in our community to whom you have the capacity to reach out with compassion.
We are strong. We are resilient. We are Rams. We will get through this—together.
Thank you,
Joyce McConnell