Colonial Athletic Association suspends football for 2020
RICHMOND, Va. (BVM) — As football conferences around the country such as the Big Ten and the Pac-12 have turned to participating in strictly conference schedules, the Colonial Athletic Association has decided to move against the grain. Rather than play in conference-only competition in 2020, the conference on July 17 announced that it will suspend all conference play in the fall due to concerns over COVID-19.
“I commend the Board of Directors for their forward thinking and open-mindedness when dealing with the uncertain and complex moment that we find ourselves in,” CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio said in a press release. “Each of our institutions is making the best decisions for its campus community, based on a totality of the circumstances analysis.”
The CAA will continue the exploration process of a possible spring season for football and will continue to monitor and analyze the situation as more information on the virus and containing it becomes available. Although the conference as a whole will not participate in football in the fall, the CAA will allow its members to explore the option of pursuing playing an independent football schedule in the fall. This is due in large part to the geographical nature of the conference and the fact that 12 of the conference’s schools participate in other Division I sports in four other conferences.
The conference is a part of Division I-AA and plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. Last season, James Madison University (JMU) won the conference with an 8-0 conference record enroute to a 14-2 season in which the Dukes lost in the FCS national championship game to North Dakota State University, 28-20. The Dukes have become one of the best FCS programs in the country in the past five seasons appearing in three national title games in the past four seasons.
“We believe that we have a responsibility to explore all of the possible options at this point in time,” JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said in a Dukes athletic department update. “As of now, the FCS Championship schedule has not been changed. Accordingly, while the majority of CAA institutions have decided not to continue with fall football, we are currently looking at how to rebuild a schedule for the fall season while following health and safety protocols and guidance.”
Other conference members include Albany, Delaware, Elon, Maine, New Hampshire, Richmond, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Towson, Villanova and William & Mary. Albany and Villanova also made it to the FCS playoffs last season.
The decision makes the CAA the fourth FCS conference to elect to not play football this fall, joining the MEAC, the Ivy League and the Patriot League. The decision has already caused ripple effects in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Teams from all four conferences were scheduled to play games against FBS teams, including the likes of Northern Illinois University and Ball State University, but now must find replacements. The NCAA has recently announced that it will ease its requirements for bowl-eligibility this season due to the current global situation, but it is not yet known how many more conferences will be affected.
