NWAC suspends spring sports until April 13; NIC ban is even longer

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, North Idaho College said it is taking measures to adapt and to increase social distancing practices in order to keep the well-being of students, employees and community a top priority.

All NIC-related sporting events for the next six-plus weeks are off for now, including today’s annual Idaho high school all-star basketball games at Rolly Williams Court, which were canceled. Unless an event can be conducted virtually, all of NIC’s scheduled events through April 30 are to canceled or rescheduled to a future date due to a travel ban in place by NIC administration, according to athletic director Bobby Lee.

The travel ban means no NIC teams may travel until that date, and no teams may travel to NIC.

The ban can be revisited should conditions improve before the end of April, Lee said.

Earlier Friday, the Northwest Athletic Conference suspended all spring sports competition through April 13.

NIC said it felt compelled to take these steps in light of the most recent evidence of COVID-19 spread that is currently seen throughout the Pacific Northwest. There is still no confirmed case of COVID-19 at North Idaho College, and the risk remains relatively low, NIC said.