The MIAA Board of Directors voted on Monday to update the start date for the 2020 spring sports season, stating that spring sports will begin on April 27. The decision was made in accordance with recent mandates and recommendations for health safety from Massachusetts Governor Charlie Barker, the Center for Disease Control and other governing health agencies.
As has been the case with every update during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Directors stated that the situation remains fluid and could be readdressed at any point. Previously, the start of the spring season had been pushed back to March 31.
The Board of Directors also approved a vote to have the entire spring season, both regular season and tournament games, completed by June 20. That means there will be a total of 54 days for teams to complete the season.
Considering the tightened schedule, the MIAA Tournament Management Committee will address details regarding the structure of the spring season. There will be plenty to consider, including things like how many games to play, whether those games should be league or non-league games, the mandates on practice time and tournament qualification standards.
St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall sits on the Tournament Management Committee.
“There is a lot that needs to be addressed, first and foremost the fact that the current rule is that there needs to be 11 days of practice before the games can start,” said Newhall. “We might need to look into potentially shortening that, but even if we don’t then we’re still looking at roughly four weeks to play a full regular season. I think we have to have realistic expectations that we might be able to play a little more than half of the normal 20 games, if that. There is a lot to be considered at this point.”
An update on the new structure will be provided by the Tournament Management Committee and reviewed by the Board of Directors on March 25.