Modesto Junior College reverses field, is now working on having a football season
A month after the school opted out of a football season, Modesto Junior College football coach Rusty Stivers wants his team back on the field.
On Friday, school officials reversed their decision and submitted opt-in paperwork to the California Community College Athletic Association for a potential football season.
“We wanted to provide the chance to practice and potentially compete,” Stivers said. “The school is doing everything they can to help support student-athletes.”
In December, the school’s fall and winter sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, along with football, opted out of their season due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Basketball, along with the other sports, could still hold a limited number of scrimmages if health officials allowed. An opt-out for football, which generally runs from September to November, meant the season was over.
MJC is the only Modesto-area junior college to have opted-in for football. Other two-year schools include College of Sequoias in Visalia and a few in the Bay Area.
While there are numerous hurdles to compete, including health guidelines and finding opponents, Stivers said it’s the “hope element” and the chance to maybe scrimmage once or twice that would go a long way for his team.
Stivers said the football team has been conditioning since the fall. Even though they originally opted-out, he told the team it was “ever-changing” and not to lose hope of a potential season.
The chance to scrimmage against each other or another team creates highlight tapes the coaching staff can send to four-year schools to help secure athletes scholarships.
“There are a lot of things that are not in our control,” Stivers said. “The school administration is doing everything it can with its control.”
MJC Athletic Director Nick Stavrianoudakis said the school has submitted protocols for conditioning workouts to the county health department and they are working on a set of protocols for practices, competitions, and testing for all sports and will be submitting those in the near future.
“Our goal is to maximize the level of activity for each sport while ensuring safety of all participants,” Stavrianoudakis said.
Other fall and winter sports include women’s volleyball, soccer, water polo, cross country, women’s golf, and wrestling.
A decision to opt-it or opt-out for spring sports (baseball, men’s Golf, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, and track and field) is set for Feb. 26.
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 3:39 PM.
