Potential ripple effect

Local U of A alumnus gives his take his former school's "pause" move.

The University of Arizona Athletics announced on Monday that it will bring pause to allowing more student athletes the access to come onto it's campus.

This decision stems on the 1 of the current 83 student athletes on the Tucson main campus that recently tested positive for the Coronavirus.

Longtime Arizona Western College men's head soccer coach Kenny Dale has roots in Tucson and is a graduate of the U of A.

News 11 Sports caught up with him on Tuesday to get his reaction to that decision.

Dale expressed the University's decision was a wise one for the sake of keeping all the coaches, administrators and student athletes as safe as possible.

At the same time, he also believes this could set a precedent to other universities and even has the potential to spill over to the junior college level; that could lead to the dramatic effect of various sports seasons ahead.

"Obviously, teams need other teams to play. And even though every school and every conference in the country is looking at their problem individually, it could have a ripple effect. Our own conference season is going to be delayed and condensed for this Fall. So, we do follow the lead of the Universities in a lot of things. Academically, socially, in terms of a calendar. It could have a ripple effect on down the line."

Even though Dale admits that he's not sure how long the effects of the pandemic will have on the collegiate sports landscape; he does believe at some point there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

"Well, I'll tell you, I love the University of Arizona and I know even though this is a different time for everybody involved with colleges and college athletics, the return is going to be a great celebration. And at some point, when the virus passes or we find a vaccine, at some point there's going to be a great return to American college sports."