The Patriot League will not play sports in the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In Monday’s announcement, the league also said a decision on winter sports will be made at a later date and that practice, conditioning and strength training will be allowed if “health and safety conditions support such activities.” .
The U.S. Military Academy and Naval Academy are exempt from cancellation, and any decisions regarding their participation in competitive sports will be made by their superintendents.
“From a health and wellness standpoint, things are not getting better in this country,” Patriot League commissioner Jennifer Heppel told ESPN. “As we get closer to the point where students are going to make plans for how they will travel back to our campuses, as well as student athletes, it became clear to us that this was not going to be in our best interests. Communities will have Athletics this fall. That was the decision that had been made. It’s incredibly disappointing for our student-athletes and our coaches, and it’s not a decision that someone feels good about. It’s sad. It’s heartbreaking. “
Heppel said having fall sports in the spring would present “many challenges,” but that the Patriot League will still consider it, and today he has no idea what it could be like, “but we will work on it.” “
“There are still many unknowns,” he said. “In talking about spring, we are jumping through winter, and there are many challenges around winter. I think we should be honest and transparent about the fact that it is going to be very challenging, but we also owe it to our student-athletes and coaches to creatively explore every opportunity that may exist. “
Heppel said the league is focused on getting students back to a learning environment.
“We have to focus on the top of this, as opposed to the athletics part, which is an incredibly important part,” he said.
The decision comes just after the Ivy League canceled its fall sports last week.
The Big Ten and Pac-12 announced last week that they would be playing conference-only schedules this soccer season.
The ACC and SEC have yet to make decisions regarding scheduling.
SEC athletic directors meet in person at the conference offices in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday.
Over the weekend, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the conference deadline for reaching a decision is late July, but acknowledged that “we are running out of time to correct and do things right. “
“We created a medical advisory group in early April with the question ‘What do we have to do to get back into business?’ and they have been a big part of the conversation, “Sankey said during an interview on Marty & McGee on ESPN Radio on Saturday. “But the direct reality is not good and the notion that we have politicized distancing medical guidance, breathing masks and hand disinfection, ventilation from being outside, being careful where you are in buildings. There are some very clear tips on: It cannot mitigate and eliminate all risks, but how does it minimize risk? … We are running out of time to correct and correct things, and as a society we owe each other to be as healthy as we can be. “
Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett said he is watching what other conferences are doing, and the next 10-day week will provide even more clarity on whether everyone needs to move their seasons to spring. He said Southland has not had extensive conversations in a spring season, and the FCS national championship game is still scheduled for Frisco, Texas, on January 9.
“We can’t go half and a half, so there will have to be some uniformity in what we are thinking and obviously we are observing our colleagues at FBS,” Burnett said. “If they are going to pick up and possibly move their season to spring, we are not going to be able to ignore that and have to firmly consider it. But we are not quite sure how to speculate on any kind of response if three or four conferences are in the fall and three or four are in the spring. That probably doesn’t count. “
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, Andrea Adelson and Heather Dinich contributed to this report.
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