Michigan Cross Country Permitted Additional Competition by Big Ten
1/29/2021 9:05:00 AM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Updated to include statements from head coaches Kevin Sullivan and Mike McGuire.
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference on Thursday (Jan. 28) granted the University of Michigan men's and women's cross country teams the opportunity to compete in one non-conference race due to unique extenuating circumstances. The decision effectively revives the Wolverines' hopes of potential NCAA postseason berths after department-wide coronavirus prevention measures forced them out of their one-and-only conference-approved opportunity to meet the nationals qualifying standards.
A two-week pause enacted by the U-M Athletic Department on Jan. 23 at the recommendation of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) rendered the Wolverines unable to compete at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships that are scheduled to be held Saturday (Jan. 30) in Shelbyville, Ind.
The conference meet was the only cross country competition approved by the Big Ten for its member institutions ahead of the NCAA Championships on March 15 in Stillwater, Okla.
Teams must have at least one 2020-21 competition on their resumes to become eligible for NCAA Championships qualifying consideration. Without this exception, Michigan would have been ineligible for the national championships.
The Wolverines are finalizing plans for where and when they will utilize this opportunity, to be announced at a later date.
Statement from head men's cross country coach Kevin Sullivan:
"We found out as a team yesterday that we were granted this exception to get one competition in to meet the NCAA requirements for qualifying for the national championships. That had to go through a couple of processes: it had to be agreed to by our coaching body in the Big Ten and our senior woman administrators who ultimately made the decision. Without them all being behind us, we wouldn't have this opportunity."
"As a team, we really appreciate that they understand the uniqueness of our situation and that our hands are tied in this. We weren't purposely staying away from the Big Ten Championships. We're still pretty gutted that we're not going to be able to compete tomorrow. That would be our preference, but we appreciate and are thankful that the conference has agreed to let us have this opportunity."
Statement from head women's cross country coach Mike McGuire:
"We're very thankful for the support we received from the coaches in the Big Ten and then for the great work that our senior woman administrator Elizabeth Heinrich did presenting it to her fellow SWAs. We're grateful for their unanimous support for this additional non-conference competition."
"For the student-athletes, it was good news after what we've been dealing with here in recent days. We'll do everything on our part to compete and to try to earn the opportunity to represent the University of Michigan at the NCAA Championships."
