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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SUNY Morrisville, together with our affiliated league offices from the Empire 8, North Eastern Athletic Conference, and State University of New York Athletic Conference, remain committed to the health and safety of all members of the college community, including our student-athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d said Interim Athletic Director Todd Kleinhans. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith 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,\u201d said SUNY Morrisville Provost Barry Spriggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additional information as it pertains to fall competition for the NEAC and SUNYAC conferences, where Morrisville competes in men\u2019s and women\u2019s cross country, field hockey, men\u2019s golf, men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer and women\u2019s volleyball, will be announced once a decision is made by each conference\u2019s respective Presidents Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Spriggs said. \u201cAs always the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community is always at the forefront of our decision making.\u00a0SUNY Morrisville has begun to examine athletic related activities for the fall understanding the importance of athletics in the lives of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n