Aim is to find way to play
League’s winter sports off, but Golden Knights eye other alternatives
Their league isn’t playing this season, but the College of Saint Rose men’s and women’s basketball teams still hope to compete.
The Northeast-10 Conference’s Council of Presidents voted Tuesday to cancel formal regular season and championship competition in basketball and the conference’s other six winter sports because of the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Saint Rose announced it is still taking steps to prepare its athletes to return to a delayed start to team activities, including practice, training opportunities and contests against “outside competition,” which could include facing other NE-10 teams that opt to play.
“The kids are obviously anxious to play,” Saint Rose men’s basketball coach Mike Perno said. “We’ll do everything in our power on our end to try to make it work, and if we can make it work, great. If we get a couple of games out of it, or a dozen games out of it, I think anything at this point is a plus. ... Just play it by ear and see how it goes the next couple of weeks.”
The NE-10 said each member institution retains the autonomy to determine if it will engage in independent athletic contests this winter. Saint Rose also sponsors indoor track and field and swimming and diving in the winter.
Perno said Saint Rose could
also look to line up games against teams from the East Coast Conference and Central Collegiate Athletic Conference, which are also Division II leagues, depending on travel restrictions because of COVID -19.
Saint Rose’s basketball teams held workouts in the fall and then sent their players home before Thanksgiving. They were supposed to return to campus before New Year’s Day, but with Tuesday’s announcement, the goal is for the players to resume team activities when the spring semester starts on Jan. 19. Saint Rose said it will monitor the situation on a daily basis.
“The door is still open for us to compete this winter,” Saint Rose athletic director Lori Anctil said. “We’re hopeful we’ll continue in that direction. It’s disappointing (the NE-10 canceled), obviously. But I’m still encouraged by the opportunity ... I think rightfully so, the presidents were starting to feel a little uneasy about things and moving forward with a full conference schedule like we had planned and expecting everyone to play, may not have been in the best interest from all the institutions.”
Anctil said Saint Rose will have to assess which other programs decide to play.
“I do feel there’s going to be enough institutions, and fortunately for us, they should be all day trips, anyway,” she said. “We’re hopeful we’ll be able to make it work with enough teams to play.”
With no conference tournament, there won’t be an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The NCAA requires a minimum of 12 games in Division II to be eligible for the tournament. Perno said it’s just important that Saint Rose plays at all.
“I just think the tradition, the history that we have at Saint Rose,” Perno said. “Being in the Capital Region, I think we get a lot of good local support, and all the alums that have played and follow our program, it’s important to them, even if they can’t be at the game, to watch it on a live stream.”