Student athletes at Wittenberg University, a Division III school located in Springfield, Ohio, will be permitted to resume their regularly scheduled practices and intercollegiate games beginning Monday. The decision, which will also see the resumption of in-person learning and operations, comes after the school canceled all events earlier this week, including intercollegiate athletics, through Sunday over security concerns on campus.
The school said in a news release Friday that the decision to resume events was made after “consultation with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and the receipt of the additional safety resources we have worked to procure from the city of Springfield, Clark County, and the state of Ohio.” Additionally, the school said, “none of the scores of threats made toward multiple entities in Springfield have proved credible.”
While schedules will resume as normal, Wittenberg will have additional security measures throughout campus, including increased patrols in partnership with local law enforcement. Additionally, the Office of Homeland Security will assist in monitoring social media for possible threats.
Security concerns began last week after the presidential debate when former President Donald Trump repeated a baseless rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield abducted and ate household pets.
On Monday, two elementary schools were evacuated because of bomb threats. The New York Times reported there have been 33 bomb threats targeting city schools since Trump’s accusations. Springfield City Hall and two hospitals have also been threatened, per The Times.
On Monday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said he was sending state police to the city to reassure Springfield citizens that they were safe.
“We must take every threat seriously, but children deserve to be in school, and parents deserve to know that their kids are safe,” DeWine said. “The added security will help ease some of the fears caused by these hoaxes.”
Wittenberg had multiple teams slated to compete in events between Tuesday and Sunday, including men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s tennis, field hockey, women’s volleyball, football and men’s and women’s golf. While Wittenberg athletes will miss those events, the school reiterated Friday they will attempt to reschedule as many as possible but have not yet received any schedule change requests.
“It will be very challenging for highly physical sports like soccer, field hockey and football, which require longer periods of rest and recovery between games, to add games into the second half of their 2024 schedules,” a Wittenberg spokesperson said to The Athletic.
However, other sports such as cross country, golf, tennis and volleyball, either due to the length of season remaining or physical demand, may be easier to reschedule.
(Photo: Luke Sharrett / Getty Images)
