No fans likely for postseason games

Fans who want to see the Siena men’s and women’s basketball teams win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament will probably have to stay home and watch.

It’s “unlikely” the MAAC will allow spectators at the event at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall from March 9 to 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic, league commissioner Rich Ensor said Wednesday after the MAAC Committee on Athletic Administration meeting.

Ensor said the MAAC athletic directors also voted to move the last weekend of regular-season competition ahead one day from March 5 and 6 to March 4 and 5. The teams will all arrive in Atlantic City on March 7 in order to be available for daily COVID -19 testing. The NCAA Tournament is requiring members of any participating team to have seven straight days of negative tests.

The Siena men are scheduled to close the regular season at Marist on March 4 and 5, while the Siena women will be at home against the Red Foxes on those dates.

Ensor added the MAAC will extend the ban on fans for the remainder of the regular season “unless something changes for the good.” The MAAC previously said fans weren’t allowed at games through at least the end of January.

Ensor said the MAAC Tournament revenues will be down with no ticket sales, so the league won’t be receiving any of its $300,000 annual guarantee from Atlantic City. The MAAC didn’t get the guarantee last year, either, when the tournament was canceled while in progress by COVID -19.

“But we get the facility and we’re cutting expenses so they won’t be as high as they normally will,” Ensor said. “Some of it’s just because you don’t need all the staff. On an operational level, it’s fairly simple. We just need to do officials and table crew and some basic stuff but not nearly what goes into a MAAC Tournament. We’re not doing any of the auxiliary events.”

The MAAC and Atlantic City will enter the final year of their three-year contract next year, but Ensor said they will discuss an extension once operations get back to normal.

The MAAC also announced Wednesday the league presidents have approved spring competition schedules for the sports of soccer, volleyball, water polo, baseball, softball and lacrosse. Competition is to start no sooner than March 6 for those sports. MAAC member and associate member institutions will begin posting their respective schedules over the upcoming days.

The MAAC announced the cross country championships will take place March 5 at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, N.J.

Soccer, volleyball and cross county are traditionally fall sports that were postponed because of the pandemic.