LWC Athletics
Chris Wells, Assistant Athletic Director

COLUMBIA – Mid-South Conference officials announced a change to the 2020 football schedule on Wednesday.

All conference games will now be contested mostly among divisional opponents, including a pair of games that will be considered non-divisional games.

“The decision to adjust the 2020 schedule for the Mid-South Conference was not taken lightly,” Lindsey Wilson football coach Chris Oliver said. “These schedules are typically made well over a year in advance, so this was not a simple change at this late moment. Having said that, I was very impressed with the transparency and communication between our coaches and administrators across the MSC landscape.

“After multiple discussions, we came to a clear conclusion that these adjustments are in the best interest of our student-athletes and institutions. These changes will help protect our student-athletes and coaches while strengthening our ability to play the 2020 season this Fall.”

Mid-South Conference Commissioner Eric Ward said the change — approved by athletic directors and coaches of football-playing institutions — comes due to the unknowns of what a return to play will look like this fall.

“The Mid-South Conference football athletic directors and head coaches have vetted and approved a revised 2020 conference football schedule,” Ward said. “With the lingering uncertainty regarding many of the details surrounding a return to play in the fall, our conference leadership felt it would be prudent to go ahead and develop a contingency plan for football, the sport with the largest student-athlete participation and the most procedural complexities from the start of preseason practice thru completion of the regular season schedule. Our schools will face a number of challenges this fall, and the revised football schedule will make some of those challenges easier for our members to address.”

Lindsey Wilson’s season now is scheduled to begin on Sept. 12 against Campbellsville (Ky.) at Blue Raider Stadium. The game is the first of nine straight weeks for the Blue Raiders. Lindsey Wilson travels to Bethel (Tenn.) in McKenzie, Tennessee, on Sept. 19. Both the Campbellsville and Bethel games are considered non-divisional games towards the conference standings.

The Blue Raiders open their divisional schedule on Sept. 26 at Georgetown (Ky.). The Blue Raiders return home for two straight games on Oct. 3 and 10 as Lindsey Wilson hosts Cumberlands (Ky.) and Pikeville (Ky.).

Lindsey Wilson travels to Cumberland (Tenn.) on Oct. 17 before returning home on Oct. 24 to host Thomas More (Ky.). The Thomas More game is scheduled to be part of Homecoming Weekend at Lindsey Wilson.

The Blue Raiders travel to Campbellsville for their divisional game on Oct. 31 before closing out the regular season at home against Bethel on Nov. 7.

All kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Ward said the MSC Football Oversight Committee — comprised of two athletic directors from each of the three conference divisions — sought a plan that would imperatively consider the well-being of the student-athletes while also being mindful of the potential fiscal challenges of Mid-South Conference institutions in the wake of COVID-19.

Ward said he is incredibly proud of how everyone worked together to find a solution under difficult circumstances.

“I want to especially thank our athletic directors and head football coaches for their leadership and spirit of cooperation through this process,” Ward said. “Making decisions in a crisis situation with 22 member-institutions can be like trying to turn a battleship in a bathtub. Instead we found that our athletic directors and coaches were all eager and willing to work together to find a solution to the challenges that we all will face in getting our teams back on the field and keeping them on the field this fall.”