For the first time in nearly a year, sports at Southeast are in full swing. This semester showcases every sport the university has to offer, including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, track, cross country, gymnastics and football. This is a stark contrast to the fall, when there was one football game in Carbondale, Ill., and the beginning of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons.

The packed spring schedule should provide a challenge for everyone involved, and especially for the Strategic Communications office which requires a representative to officially score every Redhawk sporting event.

Strategic Communications director Jeff Honza and assistant director Eric Mueller have to either attend or find someone to officially score every home game. Honza said the amount of scheduling conflicts for the duo is “amazing,” and he has already begun planning for some of the busiest weekends on the schedule.

One of the weekends highest on their radar is Feb. 19 through 21, when there will be four basketball games, four baseball games and the football home opener at Houck on Feb. 21.

“I really hope we all don’t have to go through this again because it’s been very challenging,” Honza said.

Outside of all fall sports moving to the spring, there are other factors that create worse scheduling conflicts — most notably rescheduling games because of COVID-19 protocols. These postponements can happen at almost any moment, and according to Honza, one postponement can change the schedule of three or more Ohio Valley Conference basketball teams at once.

OVC sports information teams meet on Zoom weekly to keep the whole conference in the loop on any issues or postponements, a trend that began because schedules during a pandemic are so fluid.

Around mid-March, Southeast will have at least six sport seasons going at once, something that has never happened in SEMO history. Honza, like any manager, said he has been looking for ways to avoid burnout.

“You’re not going to be productive if you’re burnt out, and we have to be at the top of our game,” Honza said. “If my assistant comes to me and says, ‘Jeff, I need some rest,’ there’s not going to be any hesitation to let them get some time away.”

For the full Southeast sports schedule, visit https://gosoutheast.com/index.aspx.