U of Michigan Pauses Athletics Because of Variant Jan. 25, 2021 -- The University of Michigan Athletics Department announced Saturday that all sports activities are suspended for up to two weeks after several cases of the more transmissible variant were found. The announcement includes both games and individual training sessions. All athletes, coaches, and team staff are required to quarantine immediately. “Canceling competitions is never something we want to do, but with so many unknowns about this variant of COVID-19, we must do everything we can to minimize the spread among student-athletes, coaches, staff, and to the student-athletes at other schools,” Warde Manuel, the director of athletics, said in the statement.