LACEY, Wash. – With student-athlete safety as a priority, the Management Council of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference has approved each institution to autonomously schedule for the spring 2021 seasons for men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball and cross country.
 
"The move to provide scheduling autonomy allows for each GNAC member to create schedules that work best for their institution and provide their student athletes with the opportunity to have a competitive experience in 2021," said athletic director Bob Grisham. "All of our competitions will always factor in the priority of ensuring our student athletes health and safety."   
 
The decision mirrors the conference's decision in December to allow member institutions to autonomously schedule for both men's and women's basketball. The independent scheduling will allow the Saint Martin's teams to remain flexible when scheduling competitions, while keeping student-athlete and staff's health and safety at the forefront.
 
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the GNAC voted in July to postpone the conference's fall seasons. The athletic directors of the conference's football institutions voted in September to not play a conference schedule in that sport during the 2020-21 academic year.
 
The conference also determined that its leadership councils will meet in mid-February to assess conference scheduling in the sports of baseball and softball and well as evaluate the viability of conference postseason championship events in baseball, softball, golf, outdoor track and field and rowing.