The Patriot League is the latest to cancel fall sports, including football.
The League — which features Holy Cross, Lafayette, Bucknell, Lehigh, Colgate, Fordham and Georgetown in football — made the announcement on Monday.
The League’s statement reads: “Recognizing the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to present significant challenges to our campuses and communities, the Patriot League Council of Presidents announces the following decisions regarding Patriot League competition:
As for Army and Navy, which are in the Patriot League for basketball, the league announced: “Because the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy are unique in their environments and their missions within higher education, the Council of Presidents agree that the academies may continue to engage in competitive opportunities as considered appropriate by their respective Superintendents.”
The Ivy League last week became the first to cancel fall sports, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 both announced they would play conference-only schedules and are considering canceling fall sports.
Like the Ivy League, the Patriot League is expected to try to play spring football.
“The plan is to move to spring,” one league source said.
The decision impacts the football schedules of several BCS-level programs.
Syracuse was slated to host Colgate Sept. 19 at the Carrier Dome, while Holy Cross was scheduled to visit Boston College on Oct. 31.
Meantime, it increasingly appears that no one will play college football this fall.
“Ultimately, no one is playing football in the fall,” a high-ranking college official told Yahoo. “It’s just a matter of how it unfolds. As soon one of the ‘autonomy five’ or Power Five conferences makes a decision, that’s going to end it.”
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum last week said the college football season was “slipping away.”
“I think it’s about time the commissioners and athletic directors and football coaches start dealing with the reality, and the reality is that the college football season is slipping away,” he said on “First Take.”
“They can hold on hope but if you look at what is going on in the country, it is dreadful news.”
This post has been updated to include the last three quotes.
I’m a Basketball and Tennis insider who contributes to The New York Times, NJ Advance Media and newspapers nationwide. I am also the author of two books and an
I’m a Basketball and Tennis insider who contributes to The New York Times, NJ Advance Media and newspapers nationwide. I am also the author of two books and an award-winning filmmaker. My family lives in Manhattan with our dog.