Carnegie Mellon Athletics Returns to Play

The Tartans are back! Three-hundred and fifty-nine days after the Tartans last competed in a softball game against Skidmore, the nationally-ranked women’s tennis team will return Carnegie Mellon University to competition on Saturday, March 7 against West Liberty. Men’s tennis, women’s soccer and volleyball will begin competition within the next week, and all Carnegie Mellon teams are planning to resume action this spring.

“It has been a long wait, and we couldn’t be more excited to start,” said Director of Athletics Josh Centor. “I am elated for our students and coaches. They will be back doing what they love to do and representing our great university. I so look forward to cheering them on.”

The athletics department has formed a Return to Play Task Force, which consists of department leadership, the head athletic trainer, head strength and conditioning coach, associate vice president of Community Health and Well-Being and the team physician. The Task Force has been meeting weekly since last spring to prepare for the return to practice and play, and has developed plans for those activities in conjunction with local and national requirements, NCAA guidelines, and the university’s risk mitigation protocols. The university’s COVID Coordinating Committee formally approved the return to competition late last week.

“I am grateful to our Return to Play Task Force and university leadership for their tireless work and support, and for the way the health and safety of our community has been prioritized,” Centor said. “It has taken a lot of work to get to this point, but the passion for our program and what it represents has been clear throughout every level of the university.”

The development of the Tartan Testing Program now provides the opportunity to test student-athletes and coaches as a component of participation, which is a key piece of NCAA recommendations for return to competition. Programs have been given permission to travel and to leave the state of Pennsylvania in what is considered “commuting travel,” to play games in Ohio and West Virginia.

Carnegie Mellon does not currently permit visitors on campus, and visiting spectators will not be allowed at competition that the university hosts, either at on- or off-campus venues. Spectators from within the CMU community will be permitted at events in accordance with university guidelines – no more than 25 at indoor contests, and a maximum of 50 at outdoor events. All community spectators will be required to follow all mitigation protocols. Whenever possible, the athletics department will provide live webcasts of sporting events.

Schedules for each sport have been posted to their individual team page. All schedules all subject to change.

Carnegie Mellon University Athletics COVID-19 FAQs

For up-to-date coronavirus information from the university, please visit Carnegie Mellon’s Coronavirus alert webpage.