The list of college athletic conferences who are not playing sports this fall continues to grow.
In a statement Thursday, The Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) — which is made up of Salem State University, Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Framingham State University, Westfield State University and Worcester State University — put out a statement Thursday that it will not play any men’s or women’s sports this fall.
The nation’s oldest Division III athletic conference, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary during the 2020-2021 academic year, will join conferences like the Patriot League and the Ivy League in suspending the fall 2020 athletic season.
“Unfortunately, the highly contagious nature of the COVID-19 virus and the risk of community spread through conference competition proved too great a risk to our students athletes to engage in conference play,” MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann said. “With the health and well-being of our student-athletes and our staff as our priority, we made the difficult decision to suspend the fall 2020 MASCAC season.”
Although there won’t be fall competitions, the state universities are planning to provide student-athletes with on-campus, in-person practices, conditioning and training opportunities during the fall semester to support their physical and mental well-being. These practice and training opportunities will not use a year of NCAA Eligibility and will be done in compliance with the campus, state, federal and NCAA COVID guidance and protocols.
The conference is considering alternative competition options such as shifting fall athletics to the spring. The conference is working with the NCAA, conference teams, MASCAC presidents and state officials to determine the viability of such a plan.
Winter sports are still being evaluated and will be addressed in the fall.
“The MASCAC Presidents know the value of intercollegiate athletics to our campus community and how important sports are to our student-athletes,” said Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President James Birge, Chair of the MASCAC Council of Presidents. “The news that we need to suspend the fall season is understandably disappointing, but the health and safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance. These are unprecedented times and making the difficult decision to suspend fall athletics is equally unprecedented. We will continue to monitor the facts and reevaluate the status of athletics as information and data evolves.”