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The Ivy League is canceling winter sports for the 2020-21 season, becoming the first Division I conference to do so, and postponing the start of spring sports until at least the end of February.

Winter sports like basketball and hockey had already been delayed until at least Jan. 1. The cancellation was a unanimous decision made by the Ivy League Council of Presidents, and in a statement released on Thursday, the group said "the current trends regarding transmission of the COVID-19 virus and subsequent protocols that must be put in place are impeding our strong desire to return to intercollegiate athletics competition in a safe manner."

Student-athletes, their families, and coaches "are again being asked to make enormous sacrifices for the good of public health, and we do not make this decision lightly," the presidents added. "While these decisions come with great disappointment and frustration, our commitment to the safety and lasting health of our student-athletes and wider communities must remain our highest priority."

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ivy League was the first to cancel its men's and women's basketball tournaments.