An eerie quiet awaits area college playing fields
Athletes, sidelined for months, will use time to work together, hope for spring competitions
University at Albany men’s soccer star Austin Dasilva is one of the best players in the America East Conference. He’s a highscoring forward eager to play next season, driven by the memory of a shutout loss that ended last year.
However, Dasilva will be sidelined this fall, just like college athletes around the Capital Region. Ualbany has postponed all fall sports until the spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We were all obviously disappointed but we understand the severity of COVID-19 and we realize that the health and safety of all parties involved in making a fall season happen are more important than the actual season itself,’’ said Dasilva, a junior from Sandy Hook, Conn. “We’re all definitely bummed out in a way, but we support the decision.”
Playing fields all over the area will be quiet this fall because of concerns about the nationwide spike in COVID-19 cases, accompanied by questions about testing and
travel. Ualbany football, soccer, volleyball, field hockey and cross-country are called off in conjunction with their leagues, the America East and the Colonial Athletic Association (in football only).
Like other schools, Ualbany plans to play their fall sports in the spring, assuming it’s safe enough to compete then. RPI, Union and likely Skidmore will not play any Division III games through Dec. 31. The College of Saint Rose belongs to the Division II Northeast-10 Conference, which suspended all conference competition and championships until January. Russell Sage has also postponed its fall sports season.
Hudson Valley Community College is moving close-contact sports football, soccer and volleyball to the spring. Bryant & Stratton won’t be competing in fall sports, either.
Though athletes will still be able to practice in smaller groups, RPI athletic director Lee Mcelroy said a fall without games will be unlike anything he’s seen in more than 30 years in the business.
“It’s going to be very, very different, somewhat of an eerie feeling when you walk around,” Mcelroy said.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which includes Siena, has canceled nonconference games in soccer and volleyball, is keeping its conference schedule — at least for the time being. The MAAC presidents met Friday and the athletic directors will continue discussing the fall season through the weekend, Siena athletic director John D’argenio said.
While the COVID-19 situation has stabilized in the Northeast, the rise in cases in the rest of the country led Northeast school officials to reconsider playing this fall, according to America East commissioner Amy Huchthausen.
“The rapid spread in other parts of the country has just illustrated how quickly this can get out of control and that the country has still not figured out how to get it in a more stable place and that really caused alarm and concern for our schools,’’ she said. “It just takes one person to really cause a big outbreak.”
Ualbany Athletic Director Mark Benson said travel restrictions also made playing impractical. For example, the Great Danes are in the same football league as Delaware, which is on New York’s restricted list. If Ualbany played at Delaware, the team would have to quarantine for two weeks upon returning to New York and forfeit the next two games.
“New York has done a terrific job,” Benson said. “I wish the rest of the country would just follow what we’ve done with all these different protocols and see what impact it has.”
MAAC commissioner Rich Ensor said rapid testing for athletes has become a major obstacle.
“Right now, there aren’t enough tests,” Ensor said. “The ones that are out there are expensive, and it’s taking seven to 10 days to get results back. Frankly, at that point, you might as well not be tested because you have all these athletes sitting out waiting for test results, and how can you run a sport at that point?”
Ensor said schools are also concerned about being sued if an athlete or staff member should get seriously ill or worse.
“There is some assumption of the risk, but it’s not a positive debate you want to have, that if somebody were to die, that they assumed the risk,’’ Ensor said. “So liability is definitely a worry.”
No decisions have been made yet on winter sports such as basketball or hockey, which are important revenue sports at Ualbany, Siena, RPI and Union.
“We’re going to monitor the situation as we did the last couple of months and make our decisions at the appropriate time,’’ Benson said. “Our hope is we can start the basketball season on time, but that’s yet to be determined.”
Local colleges are looking at an exceptionally busy spring with the fall sports being playing at the same time as lacrosse,
“Right now, there aren’t enough tests. The ones that are out there are expensive, and it’s taking seven to 10 days to get results back. Frankly, at that point, you might as well not be tested because you have all these athletes sitting out waiting for test results, and how can you run a sport at that point?” — Rich Ensor
baseball and softball, which officials say will put a strain on athletic department staffs.
Dasilva, the Ualbany soccer player, said he and his teammates will try to use this fall to work and gel together, all the while hoping the spring won’t be another casualty of the virus.
“We try to stay focused on what our focus is, and that’s to win an America East championship,’’ he said.