The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) sent out a press release on the morning of July 28, 2020, suspending all fall sports in the upcoming season due to concerns of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This cancellation will affect football, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, field hockey, women’s volleyball, women’s cross country and men’s cross country.
Rob Chesney, director of athletics at Montclair State University, made a statement in the release.
“The decision made unanimously by the member institutions to suspend fall sports was a difficult one,” Chesney said. “We are all disappointed that this will not be a typical season and will continue working hard to provide our student-athletes with a positive experience this year. We are also committed to providing all fall student-athletes with a meaningful season in the spring of 2021 and look forward to planning those opportunities in the near future.”
Director of Athletics Rob Chesney made a statement regarding the NJAC’s decision to suspend all fall sports.
Photo courtesy of montclairathletics.com
The cancellation includes all fall sports contests and league championships for the fall 2020 semester. The NJAC is looking at every option to allow fall sports to compete in the spring semester while allowing them to train and practice in the fall semester.
Michael Ceceri, a sophomore offensive lineman for Montclair State’s football team, commented on his season being taken away due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The virus has taken a toll on all of our fall sports but hasn’t taken away what matters most to athletes, the ability to adapt, deal with adversity and overcome any challenge put in front of us as one big family,” Ceceri said.
Kaitlyn Scrivanich, a junior Montclair State women’s soccer forward, also commented on her fall season being taken away.
“The coronavirus has impacted many people in all different ways.” Scrivanich said “Being a part of a collegiate sport, my team has gone through a lot of new changes. We have undergone a new system including team Zoom [meetings] where we workout together with our team athletic trainer.”
The full statement regarding fall sports at Montclair State.
Photo courtesy of njacsports.com
Scrivanich also expressed how the Montclair State women’s soccer team has been dealing with the recent news about the fall season.
“With the news just coming out explaining that the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] has suspended all fall sport contests and league championships for Fall 2020, our team is in distress but willing to understand the effort necessary to continue our season in spring 2021.” Scrivanich said. “This setback only gives Montclair State women’s soccer a higher incentive to expedite our goals and be ready to be the best ‘us’ for spring 2021.”
Hopes remain high for all athletes for some sort of season to emerge from this pandemic. For now, no other sports have been affected. More details will be announced as they come out.
