Posted: Sep 29, 2020
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The South Atlantic Conference Presidents and Athletics Councils approved schedules for
the fall sports of football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball on Friday.
All five sports (in addition to field hockey, which Carson-Newman doesn't sponsor) will play shortened seasons, including conference tournaments during the spring semester of 2021.
The SAC football teams will compete in a four-game conference schedule, including a conference championship game, starting March 13 and finishing in mid-April. The football teams have been divided into two divisions based on geography. Carson-Newman has been placed in the Mountain Division with UVA Wise, Tusculum, Mars Hill and Limestone. The top team from each division will then play in a postseason championship game. All SAC teams can play a maximum of seven games to be determined at the discretion of each institution.
The SAC men's and women's soccer teams will be divided into three pods consisting of four teams each for a total of six conference games with the option to play two non-conference opponents. Each team will play the other three teams in their pod twice (once at home and once on the road) with the top teams advancing to a postseason tournament.
These pods are divided up geographically in order to reduce travel and missed class time for the student-athletes. The soccer season will be played with league play starting Feb. 25 to the middle of April. Carson-Newman is in a pod with LMU, Tusculum and Mars Hill.
The SAC volleyball teams will each play a 10-match schedule from the end of February to the middle of April with the top teams advancing to a postseason tournament.
Full schedules for Carson-Newman's fall sports competing in the spring will be released at a later time.
The full details of each sport's postseason tournament, including field size and location, are still to be determined, but will be developed as soon as possible.
These fall sports seasons will not interfere with student-athlete's eligibility, as the NCAA issued a blanket waiver allowing all 2020 fall sports student-athletes to retain their year of eligibility, regardless of the number of contests competed in
during the 2020-21 season.
The SAC and Carson-Newman leadership 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.
