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No Basketball Season For Peoria Notre Dame

The Diocese of Peoria has told its schools they cannot participate in the upcoming high school basketball season.
Joe Deacon
/
WCBU
The Diocese of Peoria has told its schools they cannot participate in the upcoming high school basketball season.

Peoria Notre Dame's basketball teams will not be playing in the high school seasons scheduled to start later this month.

Last week, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) announced it will proceed with basketball as planned despite the Illinois Department of Public Health elevating the sport to the high-risk category for spreading COVID-19.

But in a letter to its schools Monday, the Diocese said it will not participate this winter. In addition to Notre Dame, other schools affected include Bloomington Central Catholic, Rock Island Alleman, Peru St. Bede, Ottawa Marquette, Champaign St. Thomas More, and Danville Schlarman.

Notre Dame athletic director David Rudolph and varsity boys coach Tom Lacher declined WCBU interview requests.

The Fighting Irish boys had a 30-and-1 record last year and were supposed to play Manual in the Class 3A Bradley University Sectional final before the pandemic ended the season.

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Copyright 2021 WCBU. To see more, visit WCBU.

Joe Deacon is a reporter at WCBU.