COLLEGE FOOTBALL: MSC opens Saturday without Bluegrass, Appy divisions

The Mid-South Conference will kickoff the 2020 football season this weekend, but two of the league’s three divisions will not play until the spring semester.

The decision came last month as the Bluegrass and Appalachian divisions opted out, including the University of Pikeville Bears.

UPIKE will begin play in the spring, along with other schools who have opted out to play this fall.

Other sports already moved included cross country, volleyball, and soccer.

The Bluegrass Division, which includes Georgetown College, University of Pikeville, Cumberlands and Campbellsville University, as well as the Appalachian Division, have postponed play to the spring, while the Sun will go ahead with the divisional schedule organized earlier this summer when the NAIA announced games could start on Sept. 12.

With each decision, leadership committees individually granted the member institutions the authority to decide on any non-conference games or scrimmages in the fall.

The national organization moved the NAIA Football Championship Series to the spring on July 31. Once dates are set for the playoffs, the MSC schedule for the Appalachian and Bluegrass will be announced.