The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Presidents' Council issued a statement Friday, unanimously voting to not conduct intercollegiate athletic competition this upcoming fall semester due to the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
SUNY Morrisville competes in the NEAC in men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball during the fall season.
The NEAC also announced that leadership will decide regarding winter and spring sports at a later date.
"While our student-athletes will be greatly disappointed in this unfortunate but necessary decision, for the safety of all our students, SUNY Morrisville agrees with the recommendation of the NEAC athletic directors to suspend competition for this fall," said SUNY Morrisville President David Rogers, who serves on the NEAC Presidents' Council.
"It is difficult to have to share the decision to suspend fall competition within the NEAC with the student-athletes," Interim Athletic Director Todd Kleinhans said. "However, we support the NEAC's decision and appreciate that it puts the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and campus community as a priority.
"Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have shown great dedication to our teams and have worked tirelessly to prepare for a season which ultimately would have been extremely challenging to complete in a safe manner. We are exploring options for athletic-related activities that can occur on campus within the recommendations made by the NCAA and New York State."
"With the health, safety and wellbeing of all our students and campus community leading all of our decision making, we will put every effort forward to explore alternative avenues in which we can engage and collaborate with our student-athletes and our entire student population during this extraordinary time," Rogers said.
Additional information as it pertains to fall competition for field hockey within the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) will be announced once a decision is reached by the league office.
The full statement from the NEAC can be found on the conference website.