When Ohio University Eastern announced in late July it was shuttering all its collegiate athletics programs, the ripple effect began expanding outward.
As did the rumors. People both inside and outside the institution heard rumors swirling about the potential sale of the Health and Education Center. That facility, among other events, is home to the annual Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Basketball Championships.
Sending an impending major issue, OVAC Executive Director Dirk Decoy put in a quick call to school officials. OUE representatives assured him the facility was staying under OUE control, and the February dates for the 2021 championships were solid.
One less thing to worry about in the age of COVID was a good thing for the conference. However, it’s still not set in stone.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine gave his blessing for the return to play fall sports last week. A few days later, the official orders were made available at coronavirus.ohio.gov.
In that release, contained in the Facilities/Venues subsection, is this mandatory stipulation:
Outdoor spectators are limited to the lesser of 15% of fixed seating capacity of the venue or 1,500 total fans.
Indoor spectators are limited to the lesser of 15% of fixed seating capacity or 300 total.
Ever been to the OVAC Tournament? Seen those stands at OUE teeming with fans? Three hundred is not going to cut it.
For now, those orders are limited to fall sports. But who’s to say that doesn’t continue into the winter and beyond?
West Virginia has a similar order, found here. But that order doesn’t specify, yet the numerical percentage or finite total of fans allowed.
Contingency Plans
In the fall, the main tournament with a potential issue is the OVAC Volleyball Championships which have been held at Union Local High School the last few years.
Flash-forward to the winter and you have both the OVAC Basketball Championships in Ohio. The wrestling and swimming championships are already held in West Virginia.
If the Mountain State has a more favorable environment in terms of allowed fan capacity, might the conference look at moving some of its championship events, albeit for one season?
“Basically, everything has a contingency plan, whether it’s at the same site at a different time slot, or a different location.”
“We’ve had no formal talks with anybody yet. It’s at the commissioners’ level for each sport. They meet once a month, and it’s been brought up about contingency plans.”
But where could the events be held, basketball in particular, across the river if need arises?
WesBanco Arena is an obvious first choice. The arena is sizable and already puts on a show with the OVAC wrestling and cheerleading championships.
The interest is there too. Denny Magruder would love to host the OVAC basketball tournament. The problem is the availability of dates is not nearly as accommodating.
“We’ve talked in the past about it when (Tom) Rataiczak was still in charge,” Magruder said. “He wanted to have them here, but we could never do it.
“There are no open Saturdays between January and May. We just don’t have the dates.”
Area College Facilities
But what about West Virginia-side collegiate facilities, namely West Liberty, Wheeling, or Bethany?
All three feature excellent facilities with ample seating. Both West Liberty and Bethany have hosted NCAA regional basketball tournaments in the past. All three have hosted first-round conference tournament games.
But again, is there interest?
In talking with LedeNews.com via email, representatives from Wheeling and West Liberty expressed initial interest, but also concern over trying to fit in two full Saturdays of basketball with an expected already full slate of Division II college basketball on campus.
West Liberty Athletics Director Lynn Ullom noted that, since both the boys’ and girls’ championships are competed during the entirety of one day, it may be possible.
But he added, “We are in the middle of our winter sports schedules during that time. We would have to work around basketball, wrestling, and acrobatics and tumbling.”
Wheeling University gave a similar answer, not ruling it out but noting the difficulty with Cardinals’ athletics schedules.
Bethany, however, seems ready to stand by and offer its assistance in any fashion should need arise.
“I can tell you Bethany College would be more than happy and willing to partner with the OVAC on any of their championships,” said Athletics Director Steve Thompson. “In a year of uncertainty there may be challenges in hosting, but in partnering with the OVAC we could definitely meet those head on.
“An opportunity to showcase our beautiful campus and facilities to the student athletes, parents, and fans would be great for everyone involved.”
Bethany already has become the housing and practice facility for the athletes for the Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Charity Classic each summer. This would only expand the partnership between the conference and the college.
Other Discussions
No matter where the championships are eventually held this season, the conference is already deep in discussion on seating capacity.
“We’ve talked capacity for quite some time now,” DeCoy said. “The seed has been planted for a while that there might be a max capacity allowable issue and, if that happens, who do you give the tickets to.
“Myself and (OVAC) athletics directors had a zoom call about three weeks, a month ago, specifically for this.
“They all shared their best practices about how they will handle it, and the other schools took notes and offered up what they were doing.”
The conference has nothing formal set yet, as many mandates are recent, and the situation is fluid and seemingly every changing.
Buckeye Local recently announced its plan for football spectators, serving as the unofficial guinea pig for the valley.
There will be no ticket sales. Football players, cheerleaders and band members will receive two tickets apiece for family only.
There are even staggered entry times for parents depending on the class level of their participating child.
Others will most likely have to rely on streaming services. Union Local announced it has reached a stream deal with NFHS at NFHSNetwork.com. Others have followed suit.
The OVAC, for now, doesn’t have a streaming agreement in-place with any particular entity.
“We don’t have any formal agreements right now,” Decoy said. “We do plan on streaming. We’ve tried it once before, but that agreement fell through because the company didn’t hold up to its end of the bargain. But it’s something we’re exploring.”
“We have to make sure it’s a good experience.”
