The Patriot League has joined the Ivy League in announcing a sweeping cancellation of spring sports and practices.
The move announced on Thursday morning is in response to the growing Coronavirus pandemic that has quickly enveloped the globe. It is scheduled to come into effect on March 16.
“Recognizing that the health and safety of our students and broader communities is our priority, and based on the ongoing spread of COVID 19 (2019 novel Coronavirus), the Patriot League Council of Presidents has made the difficult and challenging decision to cancel all spring athletics practices and competitions through the remainder of the academic year,” a statement from the league read. “The majority of Patriot League institutions have announced a temporary or semester-long transition to remote learning. While we recognize the deep disappointment that will be felt by our student-athletes, coaches, and communities, a continuation of spring seasons is untenable.”
Most of the conference’s campuses have already closed or gone to online classes in the past few days in order to combat the spread of the virus. Boston University won the men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday in what might be the last major sporting event for the league for some time.
Obviously the news means the end of spring football practice as well. The Patriot League is in the FCS and sports such as Fordham, Lafayette and Lehigh among others. Now they and their Ivy League colleagues won’t be hitting the gridiron until August at the earliest in 2020.