DOVER — It was becoming increasingly clear the past couple weeks that it would be difficult for Wesley College to play a football schedule this fall.

On Tuesday, the other shoe finally dropped.

The New Jersey Athletic Conference’s decision to cancel its fall sports season means that Wesley’s remaining football schedule is wiped out, too.

With Delaware and Delaware State already having their seasons canceled, the state of Delaware will be without any local college football in the fall for the first time since 1943 when World War II stopped it.

“We had heard some other leagues were planning on playing,” said Wesley coach Chip Knapp. “And then this past week, they all pretty much changed their minds. So you could see it coming. It was just a matter of time.
“I suspected it was going to be a domino effect, just like in the spring. That’s kind of what happened here.”

The rest of the Wolverines’ athletic programs play in the Atlantic East Conference, which canceled fall sports last week.

Wesley’s original 10-game football slate was already down to just its six remaining NJAC contests after four opponents canceled their seasons. As things stood, the Wolverines weren’t slated to open their schedule until October.

Even if Wesley wanted to attempt to put together a non-conference football schedule, there wouldn’t be many teams left to play.

The NCAA has delayed its decision on whether there will be any national championships for fall sports this year. Some programs are waiting for that decision before they announce their fall plans.

The Wolverines still plan on practicing this fall with the hope of playing some games in the spring.

“What will we able to do in the fall is the next question,” said Knapp. “We’re in the process of figuring all that out.\“You can still play some football this year (in the spring) and develop your skills for next year. That’s making the best of the bad situation in terms of playing football. Everybody wants to play and the games are the same.”