Daniel's Directory

When the coronavirus shut down sports such as the NBA, March Madness, and, locally, the NAIA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in March, there were questions as to what the future of athletics looked like in a pandemic. One of those questions was, “Would it be viable to try and play sports during a pandemic?” For Morningside College’s head football coach, Steve Ryan, it has been great to have things seem a little more normal for a few hours during practice.

“It has been incredible to practice, and it’s just been fun to have the guys out there and not that many people are playing football, but as of today we still are,” said Coach Ryan.

Morningside College and the NAIA are in a minority group of institutions that are playing the bulk of their 2020-21 football season in the fall. A few conferences in NCAA Division I FBS and a few conferences in the NAIA are all that remains of a fall college football season.

This year’s football regular season will look pretty similar to prior years for fans of the Mustang football team, except for one major change. Once the team is done with their GPAC schedule (scheduled to end on Nov. 14 at home vs. Doane), they will have to wait until April 17 to participate in the NAIA postseason. The NAIA’s Council of Presidents voted to move all fall sports championships to the spring to allow institutions more flexibility with their regular seasons. On the field, however, Coach Ryan says things feel almost normal.

“They always give great effort, great energy, and enthusiasm. It’s just like any other year, except I’m wearing a mask.”

The effort, the energy, and the enthusiasm were something that junior quarterback Joe Dolincheck knew he needed to have ready at any moment due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

“Our coaches said it from the start, it’s all unknown, but we’re taking it as if we’re having a season. Get it out of your mind that there’s a possibility that stuff might get canceled, just forget about it. We’re taking it every day that we’re having a game coming up on September 12th. So, that is what we’re working for,” said Joe Dolincheck.

Morningside has a long history of program success and leaders that step up when they are needed. One of those leaders is senior running back Arnijae Ponder. He says that a good group of guys have stepped up to make sure that the Mustangs are doing the right things when it comes to COVID-19.

“We all, as leaders, told the team ‘Hey practice like we’re having a season, practice to be champions like we are’ and then from there on we set that mentality, that standard of leaving no doubt, and from there we just took off,” said Arnijae Ponder.

Coach Ryan knows that there have to be pros and cons to every situation, and he has found one major pro as the veteran head coach enters his 20^th season.

“The players have made it very clear to me, they say that I am much better looking with the mask on, and so that’s pretty good right?” he said with a chuckle.

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