OSWEGO, NY — Tuesday afternoon, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced that the SUNYAC conference will be returning on March 20th with spring sports. The sports of baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track & field will all return as all of their seasons were cancelled last year when the COVID-19 pandemic begun.
The conference will be split into east and west divisions to limit travel and cost expenditures. The divisions will be based on geographic location with Interstate-81 being used to split New York state in two. For the sports of Women’s lacrosse and softball, two five team divisions will be used. Since Fredonia and Buffalo State do not sponsor men’s lacrosse programs, Cortland will compete in the west division and there will only be four teams per division. Lastly, women’s tennis will be without Buffalo State and Potsdam due to their lack of teams.
The other details that were announced yesterday regarding this decision revolve around logistical aspects of this season. Masks will be warn at all time except during the heat of the competition. No spectators will be allowed to watch games in person due to current New York State Department of Health guidelines. There will be regular weekly testing through each campus for athletes and team officials. Along with that, athletes will be tested three days prior to road trips. On those trips, no eating will be allowed on the buses and capacity must be reduced to 50 percent. During the game, there should be no handshakes and group celebrations.
SUNYAC Commissioner Tom DiCamillo stated that there will be more guidelines announced later along with schedules for every team and school. As of right now, the season will be opened with two women’s lacrosse match ups as Cortland plays Plattsburgh and Potsdam travels to Oneonta. WTOP 10 will continue to deliver news regarding SUNYAC spring sports in the future.
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