By Anthony Covino
Sports Editor
The NEC’s recent announcement about the postponement of fall sports did not surprise many following news that other conferences in the NCAA had also opted out.
COVID-19 concerns led the NEC to temporarily postpone fall sports for the safety of the schools, coaches, staff and student-athletes. Health was at the forefront of its decision as the resurgence of COVID-19 in recent months gave NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris all she needed to make this decision along with the rest of the NEC presidents.
FDU Athletics Director Brad Hurlbut issued a statement Wednesday, July 29, regarding the NEC’s decision to postpone fall sports.
“Due to the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was clearly the prudent choice for the NEC Presidents to make. We support the decision as a University and Athletic Department as this step was clearly necessary to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches, and staff,” Hurlbut said, in his statement.
Hurlbut expressed hope for a championship season in the spring of 2021.
The fall sports that were postponed include men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, field hockey, football, and all other sports that start training in the fall
Christa Waterman, a junior defender, told The Equinox via text, “I was honestly devastated with the cancellation of NEC fall sports since I have been hoping to finally compete once again with the team. However, I do believe they made the correct decision when looking at the bigger picture and the safety of our teams, staff, and students in general.
As with the NEC presidents, the campus hopes to reconvene as early as Oct. 1, 2020, to get fall sports up and running again as well as making sure spring sports start on time. Student-athletes do not want to miss two full seasons of eligibility, or, in other words, the ability for student-athletes to play in a season.
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Art by Anthony Covino
