BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will be without sports for the 2020 Fall season. The Conference made the announcement Monday afternoon, hours after initial reports.
Fall sports impacted include men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's cross country, and sports that conduct non-traditional season segments in the Fall.
"The decision to cancel fall sports was made with student-athletes being top of mind," Commissioner Rich Ensor said in a press release. "It is difficult to put into words how I feel for all of the student athletes, coaches, and administrators who put in so much work on a daily basis. Health and safety protocols have been of the utmost priority the last several months, but unfortunately, there are too many factors that prohibit the MAAC and its institutions from safely delivering a competitive atmosphere that these individuals deserve."
The decision impacts both Niagara University and Canisius College, both of which yield several fall sports teams.
“While this decision is disappointing for our student-athletes, coaches and staff, I understand the challenges we face and fully support the decision of the Council,” Canisius Director of Athletics Bill Maher said in a press release. “The health and safety of our campus communities are the overriding factor for the Council of Presidents and their decisions are always made with that in mind. We must now pivot and work to provide training development opportunities for all of our student-athletes as they return to campus in the next few weeks. The MAAC will engage in a full review of competition models for these affected sports in the spring to determine how we can provide a revised competition schedule for our student-athletes. The goal is to find a path forward to award these championships in the spring of 2021.”
Less than two weeks ago, the conference announced the cancellation of non-conference games for both volleyball and soccer.
According to the MAAC, a decision on whether fall sport competition would be feasible in the spring will be determined by the presidents at a later date.
