Per Big East Conference press release, the conference has decided to postpone all sports contests for the upcoming Fall 2020 season. The decision to postpone the remaining in-conference games was made by the BIG EAST COVID-19 Task Force on Wednesday, August 12.
The sports affected by the postponement are: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball and field hockey. However, Big East student-athletes will be allowed to participate in practices, strength and conditioning sessions, and team meetings, consistent with individual campus policies, public health guidelines and NCAA and conference regulations.
"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 the conference press release. "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."
The Big East added that they will continue to monitor the COVID-19 cases throughout the country over the coming months in preparation for Spring 2021 sports. A decision on the schedules for in-conference games for spring sports will be made at a later date.
Following an announcement from the Big Ten Conference earlier today, the postponement of all Big East fall sports means all colleges and universities in New Jersey have postponed their fall sports programs.
Justin Sousa can be reached at justin.sousa@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @JustinSousa99.
