The BIG EAST Conference is postponing fall sports competition due to the coronavirus pandemic and is looking at potentially holding the season in the spring of 2021, the conference and UConn announced Wednesday.
Men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, volleyball and field hockey are the BIG EAST impacted sports. In addition, the fall competition for sports in their non-traditional seasons, including baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's tennis, will not take place.
"This very difficult decision came after an exhaustive review by our Presidents and Athletics Directors and followed consideration of NCAA guidance, COVID-19 case counts and trend lines nationally and in BIG EAST communities, and the many unknowns surrounding testing availability, turnaround time and travel restrictions in our 11 locales," said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman in a statement. "We take pride in the high-level competition and experiences we provide to our fall sports student-athletes, and we share their deep disappointment that this will not be a normal year. Our plans for men's and women's basketball and other sports are unaffected at this time."
UConn officially the BIG EAST in July.
"I fully support the difficult but necessary decision made by the BIG EAST presidents to postpone fall sports competition," University of Connecticut director of athletics David Benedict said. "Our student-athletes take great pride in competing but, in speaking to many of them in last several days, I know they understand this decision was made with their health and well-being at top of mind. We remain committed to providing a world-class academic and athletic experience to all our student-athletes while also ensuring a safe and supportive environment on campus."
No decision has been made on the winter and spring sports schedules.
