Why was this decision made?
The health and safety of our student-athletes, athletics personnel and greater campus communities is paramount. Given the information from the medical and scientific community, and the number of uncertainties and limitations involving local and state regulations and various campus and state travel restrictions, it has become evident that there is a low probability of being able to support a safe, quality student-athlete experience for a full season. Current requirements for exposure and quarantine make it very difficult to imagine a season can be successfully completed at an institution or across a conference without severe disruptions. Therefore, we believe the most responsible course of action is to proactively make an informed decision to postpone competition and do so before student-athletes return for preseason practice. Our student-athletes deserve an experience that provides a greater degree of certainty than current conditions would allow or can be reasonably guaranteed. We owe them better than we can currently forecast and are committed to delivering on that.
 
Why was this decision made now and not closer to the start of the semester?
Making this decision now permits our campuses to focus solely on reopening safely for their broader university communities. We believe that the challenge of preparing for a fall sports season amidst the present uncertainties should not affect overall institutional reopening plans nor the health and safety of the wider campus community. Data from other institutions across the country illustrate some of the complications (e.g., travel restrictions, shutdown of voluntary workouts, quarantine of several team members) around the operational challenges but also reflect the uncontained nature of the virus and the ensuing health and safety concerns. Based on these observations, we believe now is the right time to provide clarity to our student-athletes so we can turn our efforts towards helping institutions reopen and ensuring all of our student-athletes safely return to campus to start the academic year.
 
Why is competition being postponed and not canceled?
Athletics is a vital and contributing aspect of all 10 of our campus communities and we owe it to our student-athletes to exhaust all options that will result in an opportunity for them to compete in their sport. We are optimistic that remedies to manage the virus and minimize spread will improve over time which would provide a more consistent season and positive experience for our student-athletes. Although we are not in a position to guarantee this given the uncertain nature of the virus, we are committed to creatively exploring all options.
 
Was conference-only competition a consideration for the fall semester?
We explored all options in regard to athletics competition in the fall the semester. Ultimately, the decision to postpone all competition was made to prioritize health and safety and to allow campuses to focus on re-opening to their entire community, while providing clarity for our student-athletes.
 
Did NCAA Championships factor into the decision-making process?
We absolutely recognize how valuable the NCAA championships experience is for our student-athletes and that was certainly a factor in the analysis, but this is fundamentally a health and safety issue and those concerns prevailed in our decision. As it presently stands, NCAA fall championships remain as scheduled, therefore, our member institutions would forgo their opportunity to be selected. However, we intend to work collaboratively with any other conference(s) that does not participate in the normal fall sports season to encourage the NCAA to consider alternatives should several conferences be unavailable. It is premature at this point to speculate, but if NCAA championships are shifted, it will certainly be a consideration as we develop alternative competitive formats for our membership.
 
Will this affect the athletics scholarships for any fall sport student-athletes?
No. Institutions shall not reduce or cancel a fall sport student-athletes scholarship based solely on the postponement of competition this fall, including incoming first-year student-athletes.
 
How will this affect any NCAA eligibility matters?
Since no competition will occur in the fall, student-athletes are not using a season of eligibility and only would if competition occurs in the spring. As a reminder, student-athletes have five years to complete four seasons of participation in an NCAA-sponsored sport under existing NCAA legislation.
 
How will the conference and its members support student-athletes impacted by this decision?
We recognize the impact this decision will have on our student-athletes, particularly on their mental health. We will work with our members to ensure we are providing adequate support to our student-athletes in this regard. As we often do, we will also utilize our conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a sounding board and solicit direct feedback from them on resources that could help. Our #Better10gether initiative prioritizes the mental health of America East student-athletes and that will certainly continue to be the case through this difficult time.
 
How will this affect the associate members in field hockey?
The four associate field hockey members will have the discretion to follow guidance from their primary sport conference; however, there will be no America East competition or championship.
 
Will fall sport student-athletes still be allowed to participate in team activities?
The usual athletics activities including practices, meetings, strength and conditioning workouts and athletic training treatments for student-athletes this fall will be permitted in adherence with NCAA rules and local and state health and safety guidelines. Decisions will be made at the institutional level. Any such activity must adhere to institutional and state guidance around health and safety.
 
When will student-athletes arrive on campus?
Student-athletes will report to campus on a timeline consistent with the rest of the student body at their respective university. Student-athletes may continue to participate in permissible voluntary workouts at each institution’s discretion.
 
What might a competition schedule for fall sports look like in the spring?
In collaboration with our membership and other conference(s) who do not participate in the normal fall sports season, we will develop plans and models that would establish a quality, competitive experience of conference and potentially non-conference competition for traditional fall sports in the second semester. There are many factors that will contribute to the development of competitive models, not the least of which are the evolving conditions of the pandemic and the ongoing health and safety considerations, however, we will begin this work in earnest.
 
Will spring sports be permitted to participate in competition during their non-traditional fall segment?
No. This decision also prohibits competition during the non-traditional segment for spring sports for the same health and safety reasons that led to the postponement of fall sports competition.
 
How will spring sports be affected if fall sports competition occurs in the spring semester?
We will work collaboratively with our membership to gain a full understanding of challenges that may arise from adding more sports to the spring semester. Our objective is to explore creative schedules and operations that would mitigate those concerns. We acknowledge that our spring sport student-athletes experienced an abrupt end to their season only a few months ago and will be mindful of that in our work.
 
Is a decision on winter sports, including basketball, being made at this time?
No. Our plan at the moment is to begin winter sports on time as scheduled. Consistent with our decision-making process and the timeline upon which decisions were made for fall sports, any decisions that may impact winter sports, including basketball, will occur in early fall. We are optimistic that continued understanding of the virus by medical professionals and advancements with aspects of medical protocols (e.g., testing, contact tracing, surveillance) will develop and be available prior to the start of the winter sport season.
 
How are football and other non-America East-sponsored fall sports at America East schools impacted by this decision?
We do not have the authority to make decisions for non-America East sports. Decisions on those sports will be determined by the conferences they compete in and/or the universities themselves.