The Empire 8 Presidents Council issued a statement on fall sports Wednesday evening, unanimously voting to postpone all fall competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including football in which SUNY Morrisville is an affiliate member.
SUNY Morrisville, together with our affiliated league offices from the Empire 8, North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC), remain committed to the health and safety of all members of the college community, including our student-athletes.
"We support the difficult decision that the Empire 8 has made to postpone fall competition and understand the need to be cognizant of the risks that susceptible populations face in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Interim Athletic Director Todd Kleinhans. "We are hoping that as the spring season approaches, Empire 8 football will be in a position to put forward a meaningful and successful season of competition for our student-athletes."
"With so many unknown factors at this point in time, we stand by this decision of the Empire 8, based on the health and safety of our campus and community," said SUNY Morrisville Provost Barry Spriggs.
Additional information as it pertains to fall competition for the NEAC and SUNYAC conferences, where Morrisville competes in men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's golf, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball, will be announced once a decision is made by each conference's respective Presidents Council.
"We continue to be in discussions with other conference offices, including the NEAC and SUNYAC where our other fall sports participate, in order to provide guidance to our student-athletes as soon as possible," Spriggs said. "As always, the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community is always at the forefront of our decision making. SUNY Morrisville has begun to examine athletic-related activities for the fall, understanding the importance of athletics in the lives of our students."
The full statement from the Empire 8 league office can be found here.