GNAC Announces Spring Sports Return To Play
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – With the health and well-being of student-athletes and campus communities remaining the top priority, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Presidents' Council has voted and announced today to authorize limited conference play for 2021 spring sports. The GNAC will sponsor conference play in baseball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, and softball, with an intended start date for mid-March.
Due to varying state-by-state guidelines and because the GNAC's 13 core members represent all six New England states, schools shall retain the autonomy to opt-out altogether or schedule local non-conference competition as they see fit. Finalized schedules are not yet public and opportunities for GNAC postseason play will be evaluated by league administrators throughout the season.
All testing and safety procedures for conference play will meet or exceed NCAA recommendations as outlined by the NCAA Sport Science Institute. Games will be conducted under an agreed-upon set of protocols including the stipulation that spectators will not be allowed.
The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) and the Department of Athletics continue to have robust testing and safety guidelines and are committed to adhere to all additional testing and safety guidelines established by the GNAC and the NCAA. Our utmost priority is to ensure a healthy and safe environment for competition this spring to allow our teams to play as much of a season as possible.
The GNAC will also allow member institutions to engage in contests against other non-conference schools that are adhering to the same health and safety protocols. We will continue to work closely with our Sports Medicine and Health Services staff to carefully monitor for the spread of COVID-19 to minimize the impact on our campus and community.
In addition to our spring teams returning to competition, some of our fall teams will participate in limited competition against local schools adhering to the same health and safety protocols.
About USJ Athletics
University of Saint Joseph (USJ) Athletics is a NCAA Division III member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC). The Blue Jays field 15 varsity sports with 200-plus student-athletes. For more information, please visit www.usjbluejays.com.
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