Northeast-10, MASCAC suspend competition through the end of 2020

Add the Northeast-10 and Massachusetts State Athletic Conference to the list of conferences who will not have sporting events through the end of 2020.

The Council of Presidents of the Northeast-10 Conference voted unanimously on Thursday to suspend all NE10-sponsored competition and championships through Dec. 31 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MASCAC meanwhile announced Thursday in a statement that it made the “difficult decision to suspend the Fall 2020 athletic season, including all indoor and outdoor athletic competition.”

The decision means that New Haven and Southern Connecticut, members of the NE10, will join the growing list of Connecticut universities who will not have sports until January at the earliest.

“This is a very unfortunate decision by the NE10 but I agree that it is necessary if we want to work towards providing a safe environment for our student-athletes,” Southern Connecticut State Director of Athletics Jay Moran said in a statement. “Conversations among the Council of Presidents and the athletic directors in the NE10 were consistently focused on a return to competition, but we ultimately had no choice but to suspend competition for the time being. I know this announcement will be very upsetting to our student-athletes, coaches and staff. My goal now is returning to competition on Jan. 1, 2021.”

WestConn is a member of the MASCAC for football only. WestConn is a member of the Little East conference in other sports.

“We are heartbroken for the loss of conference competition for those studentathletes,” Western Connecticut State University Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports Lori R. Mazza said in a statement. “We understand the reasoning behind the decision and stand by our colleagues in the MASCAC in ensuring the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff. Commissioner (Angela) Baumann and the MASCAC Council of Presidents are looking at possible alternative dates of play in the future, and we will continue work closely with her office to identify those opportunities.”

Both conferences left open the possibility that the fall sports could be played during the spring. Plans for spring competition of the fall sports will be provided at a later date.