ASHLAND – The start of the Cascade Collegiate Conference basketball season will be delayed until at least Jan. 8 after a vote Tuesday by the CCC Council of Presidents, the league office announced.

The Southern Oregon University men's and women's CCC basketball schedules originally had a Dec. 4 start date. But, in accordance with current state guidelines, contact sports – basketball, football and wrestling at SOU – have not yet received clearance to conduct full-contact practices or competitions throughout Oregon, except at the NCAA Division I level.

"With the surge in COVID-19 cases across our footprint and the work still pending with state and local health authorities on our Return to Play Plan, our (Council of Presidents) determined the best path forward was to delay the start of conference basketball until after the first of the year," CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell said.

Wrestling schedules have not yet been released, and SOU's seven-game Frontier Conference football schedule opens on Feb. 27. SOU's non-contact sports – cross country, soccer, softball, track and field, and volleyball – remain on track to compete in the new year.

Amid the modifications and uncertainty, the NAIA's Council of Presidents Executive Committee has voted not to charge a season of competition to fall or winter student-athletes. The committee previously did the same for spring student-athletes whose 2020 seasons were disrupted.

Last week the CCC publicly released its Return to Play plan, which includes daily wellness screening, stringent procedures for mitigating against the introduction and spread of COVID-19, and weekly required PCR testing for basketball, football, soccer, volleyball and wrestling.

The complete CCC Return to Play Plan can be viewed by clicking here.

According to the conference office, the revised basketball schedules will be made available at a later date.