The MAAC has finally canceled all fall sports, as was long expected. The conference, which includes Marist College in all sports but football, had initially planned to begin on September 11th, over a month later than usual. The report first came on Twitter from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
The MAAC has released a statement on the cancellation saying, “Following today’s Council of Presidents meeting, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has decided to cancel fall sports competition due to continuing health and safety concerns surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic.”
The conference also stated that a decision to play the cancelled sports seasons during the spring will be determined at a later date. MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said this about the future of its fall sports:
“The fall sports impacted by the Council’s decision include men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country and sports that conduct non-traditional season segments in the fall. The MAAC Executive Committee will explore with the Committee on Athletic Administration (COAA) the goal of providing the student-athletes with a schedule of contests among conference members in the spring of 2021 in accordance with each institution’s procedures and applicable state regulations. It is the goal of the MAAC to ensure it recognizes a MAAC champion in each sport and it will review possible championship formats for the fall sports in accordance with evolving state and local regulations.”
Marist is one of the 11 colleges within the MAAC impacted by the decision. Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the women’s volleyball team secured a playoff berth last season. Marist football remains the lone fall sport not impacted as it belongs to the Pioneer League which yet to make an announcement on the season’s status. Two of the Red Foxes’ regular opponents, Davidson and Dayton, have already cancelled fall sports for 2020.
Following the announcement of the season’s cancellation, Marist President Dennis Murray released a statement saying, “This is extremely disappointing, but it’s the right decision. We’ll continue to monitor local and state guidelines to ensure that our student-athletes are kept safe and healthy.”
The MAAC joins several other conferences in changing or cancelling fall sports due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ivy League, Patriot League and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference all cancelled their fall sports seasons. The Pac-12 and Big Ten plan to play a conference-only schedule for football.
Edited by David Connelly