JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The South Atlantic Conference President's Council and Carson-Newman have made the decision to begin intercollegiate competition for men's and women's basketball for the 2020-21 season on Nov. 21.
Teams will be permitted to begin full team practices Oct. 22. Carson-Newman also plans to compete intercollegiately in swimming and indoor track in the 2020 calendar year; however, a specific start date for those sports has not yet been set.
"We're thrilled that we've been given clearance by the South Atlantic Conference to return to competition on Nov. 21," Carson-Newman Vice President for Athletics Matt Pope said. "We will do so with the utmost consideration for our student-athletes health and safety, as well as the health and safety of our coaches, administrators and staff. We do all of this with basketball while also looking to begin swimming and track competition in the 2020 calendar year."
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) September 18, 2020
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The SAC men's and women's basketball teams will play a 20-game conference schedule with opportunities to play two non-conference opponents if individual institutions choose to.
Swimming and track competition will be at the discretion of each member institution.
"Our schools have been able to conduct in-person classes and practice activities this fall, and while there have been positive cases and other issues, they have been able to manage them effectively," SAC Commissioner Patrick Britz said. "The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans is still our top priority, but we are confident that we can begin playing some basketball games in November and prepare for all of our sports to compete in the spring semester."
The SAC and Carson-Newman will continue to assess the NCAA, federal, state, and local developments and provide updated revisions as further information is available, including restrictions on spectator attendance at games.
