BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Over the coming weeks, SamfordSports.com will offer alumni, fans and friends an in-depth video interview series focused on the lives of our student-athletes, coaches and staff in the wake of COVID-19. In Tuesday's inaugural episode, Jonathan McAfoos visits with Samford University head softball coach Mandy Burford-Johnson.
 
In the midst of her ninth season, Burford-Johnson and the Samford Bulldogs played in one of the last athletic contests in the country on Thursday, March 12, as the nation began to face the impact and realities of COVID-19.
 
After Samford's 10-2 victory over Bryant, Burford-Johnson, her staff and members of the department's senior leadership told the team that the season had been postponed. Over the course of the next week, the NCAA and Southern Conference announced the cancelation of all spring sports, thus ending the season.
 
"As coaches, I think we spend a great amount of time preparing for and handling the unknowns," Burford-Johnson said. "Telling my team that day that the season was being postponed was one of the toughest moments of my coaching career, but I knew our ladies would handle it with dignity and grace."


 
Since that Thursday, a lot has changed across the country in terms of the nation's response to COVID-19. Samford has made the shift to online classes to complete the spring semester while communities across the country diligently work to slow the spread of COVID-19.
 
"With so much uncertainty right now, our primary focus has to be on meeting the needs of our student-athletes and I am proud of the work our administration is doing to address that," Burford-Johnson added. "We're doing all we can to ensure our team has what they need to complete this semester successfully."
 
In recent days, the NCAA has announced plans to issue a waiver granting another season of eligibility for 2020 spring sport seniors. This would allow Taylor DeCelles, Maddie Dorsett, Whitney Hinton, Kathryn Jackson and Laney Parks an opportunity to return in 2021.
 
"Having your season end so abruptly is hard, especially with no opportunity for closure," Burford-Johnson said. "Our seniors have definitely earned the right to make the choice that is best for their futures and we will respect whatever decision they make."
 
Stay tuned to SamfordSports.com in the coming weeks for additional updates and announcements.