With thumbs up from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) and conference schools, conference teams, including UST, will move forward in the spring with athletic competition. At the same time, UST’s Guinan Residence Hall is prepared to greet students and student athletes.

SCAC Announces Return to Spring Athletics

SCAC announced, “After continuing discussions throughout the fall semester, discussions spearheaded by the league's COVID Task Force in consultation with each institution's President, Athletic Director, Athletic Trainer and Game Day Management personnel, SCAC leadership announced that all member institutions intend to move forward with athletic competition in the spring semester.”

UST Welcomes Athletes Back to Campus

After a fall of just practice and no competition because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many student-athletes will welcome the opportunity to play.

“We are very excited for our athletes and coaches for the spring semester and the opportunity to compete,” Athletic Director Todd Smith said. “We have spent all fall preparing for competition and it is going to be here soon.”

Smith went on to say he looks forward to more student athletes on campus this spring. “I hope athletic events will be part of the campus’ renewed energy.”

Guinan Residence Hall is Ready for Students and Student Athletes

Guinan Hall was opened last semester for students and student athletes and will be open this spring. The residence hall staff is poised and ready to greet students on move-in day.

Director of Residence Life, Ana Alicia Lopez, said, “I am proud of how our faculty, staff and students have all come together to make living on campus a safe option for our students in the midst of COVID-19. We have strict COVID protocols in place, and our students have risen to the occasion and followed them.

For all residential students and student athletes, UST will provide mandatory testing on Monday, Jan. 4 prior to move-in day. “In the residence hall, we have COVID testing monthly, and temperature and symptoms screening daily of all residents,” Lopez said.

 “Students have the option to live in single rooms or doubles with a waiver,” she said. “Student athletes can request a room with another athlete, and we will honor that request. Living on campus means you are seconds away from Jerabeck Athletics Center, which enables you to just roll out of bed when you have a 5 a.m. practice.

 “This spring, we will reopen the Guinan Hall lobby for socially distanced pool or Ping-Pong,” Lopez said. “We also have a round of welcome-back events in January such as a food truck and a movie night on lawn.”

Secure Your Dorm Room Now

Lopez invites students and student athletes to secure their on-campus room accommodations soon. Contact Residence Life at 713-525-3836 or residencelife@stthom.edu for more information. “We can process a student requesting housing in a day,” Lopez said. “Students need to submit a vaccine record and pay a $300 housing deposit and sign a housing contract and they’re in!”