PEMBROKE — UNC Pembroke director of Athletics Dick Christy announced Monday evening that Saturday’s regularly-schedule non-conference tilt at Winston-Salem State has been canceled and will not be made up. The decision was made in accordance with COVID-19 protocols established by both the Mountain East Conference and local public health officials.
The Braves are now set to lift the lid on their newest campaign on September 11 when the club heads to Buckhannon, W.Va., to battle MEC foe West Virginia Wesleyan at Cebe Ross Field. Kickoff has been slated for noon.
“Per NC (Department of Health and Human Services) guidance, the pause from football activities this week has resulted in the cancellation of our rivalry contest with Winston-Salem State,” said UNCP athletics director Dick Christy. “I am very appreciative of (WSSU athletics director) Etienne (Thomas) and the leadership at WSSU for quickly working through this issue today, and I feel for the student-athletes in both programs impacted by this.”
“These young men have done everything we’ve asked as far as all the protocols and the testing, so I’m so proud of them for making it to the other side,” WSSU athletics director Etienne Thomas said to the Winston-Salem Journal. “And I feel for Dick Christy because I realize it could have been us. So this is just another hurdle we have to get over.”
The Rams and Braves played every season from 2010-19, including as the season opener every season since 2012; WSSU did not play a season in the 2020-21 academic year as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association collectively opted out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
