Corey Westra
The Great Plains Athletic Conference will follow the guidelines of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and offer a nine game football season this fall. The NAIA will allow football practice to begin on August 15. Corey Westra is commissioner of the GPAC and says the teams will play a nine game, complete conference schedule.
“This first game will be September 12”, said Westra. “Everybody will still have a bye week in there so it is a very nice schedule for our football playing schools.”
The move means Drake will be searching for an opponent for its season opener. The Bulldogs were scheduled to host GPAC member Hastings of Nebraska on September third.
“It falls outside of the nine allowable games that we have”, added Westra. “Unfortunately that game is not going to happen and it would have been great for our league and Hastings to play the Bulldogs.”
Competition, both conference and non-conference, may begin no earlier than Saturday, September 5, 2020, in the sports of volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, baseball, and softball. The dates will allow adequate time for training and conditioning prior to regular season competition.