Heart Announces 2021-2022 Season Intentions
(From the Heart Office)
Kansas City, Mo.–The Heart of America Athletic Conference Commissioner, Lori Thomas, has announced the league’s return to play intentions for the 2021-22 academic year.
“We are so proud of all that our student-athletes, coaches, and administrators were able to accomplish this past year,” shared Thomas. “We are looking forward to returning to a full slate of competition heading into Fall 2021 with the safest return to play tactics in mind.”
The Heart was one of the conferences at the NAIA level to return to play last season. A 22-member task force was put in place in April of 2020 to develop the “Heart Promise” which was an agreement between the 14 institutions to follow the same guidelines and restrictions to allow competitions to take place. Pat Draves, Chair of The Heart Council of Presidents (COP) recognized the task force by adding, “The Heart COP wants to thank each of you for the incredible amount of time and compassion you put into developing the procedures and protocols. Through your work, we were able to offer student-athletes and coaches the opportunity to do what they love; compete, and the conference was able to successfully crown 22 postseason event and tournament champions this past year.”
The conference is set to return to full schedules in the upcoming year, beginning with the Fall 2021 slate set to kick off in August. All postseason competitions will return to their normal timeframe for the fall, winter, and spring sports.
The league will no longer be imposing restrictions related to spectator protocols and attendance at the conference level. Although there will be a lighter version of the “Heart Promise,” all decisions regarding spectator protocols, capacity limitations, and masking requirements will be managed and controlled at the institutional levels in conjunction with local and state guidelines.
“The goal is to conduct a normal and full season this upcoming year! If we want to see a season without a lot of stops and starts, vaccinations are going to be key. As we finalize protocols, those that are vaccinated will not face the same requirements around contact tracing, testing, quarantining, social distancing, and face coverings as those that are not vaccinated,” stated Commissioner Thomas.
