U-Sports announced Oct. 15 that university sports would not continue during the winter term due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization also said it would not be rewarding national championships.

These sports include men’s and women’s hockey, basketball, volleyball, track and field, swimming and wrestling.

The players have not played a game this year due to the cancellation of the first part of the season during the fall term as they hoped for good news to come from U-Sports.

A callous decision to make, it was decided with the safety of athletes and staff that the board of directors had in mind.

Chief marketing officer Taryn Taylor said, “As the number of cases rises during the second wave of COVID-19, and without an available vaccine, ongoing sports restrictions are required to ensure student-athlete health and safety.”

Olivia Schuster, a rookie Bison last year playing women’s volleyball, stated her disappointment in the decision but is looking forward to the next time she’ll suit up for the team.

“We are all obviously super sad and disappointed about our season, but we are going to try and keep our spirits high and still train for when the time comes that we can compete again,” she said.

The women’s and men’s Bisons teams will look into the future and do whatever it takes now to ensure that they come back better than ever.