Central Methodist University on Wednesday announced the cancellation of its annual Homecoming and Band Day competition for 2020, citing concerns surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Homecoming was scheduled to take place during the last weekend in September. CMU President Dr. Roger Drake said the decision was made Friday at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees, following the recommendation made by the University’s senior staff.

“I understand how disappointing this news is to our loyal alumni, but I believe it is necessary in an effort to maintain the highest level of safety for students, alumni, faculty, and staff,” Drake said. “Homecoming is one of our most treasured annual events and I am incredibly disappointed in having to make this decision, but this is really the best decision to mitigate risk and exposure for the CMU family and for Fayette.”

Central Methodist’s home football game against William Penn will go on as planned in accordance with NAIA game day guidelines. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. 

CMU Band Day is a beloved institution in Fayette. Traditionally more than 50 schools from across Missouri pour into Fayette for a day of street marching and field competitions. “This was a difficult decision but the safety of the high school students and their directors, our volunteers, CMU students, and the CMU faculty and staff involved in this wonderful event is our primary consideration,” said Skip Vandelicht, CMU Director of Bands.

Band Day was scheduled to take place Saturday, October 10.

CMU has been at the forefront of colleges and universities throughout the state with regard to steps taken to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. In March, it transitioned all of its classes to online only and postponed graduation for the Class of 2020 until September 13.

While the university announced early on that it would welcome students back to campus in the fall, many preventative measures have been put into place. Faculty and staff has undergone testing in recent week and all students will be tested upon their return to school. In June Central announced that all classes would again move online following the Thanksgiving break.