NAC Moves Ahead with Spring Sports

Waterville, Maine – The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Presidents' Council today announced plans to return to conference competition this spring.

Previously planned spring sport conference schedules were replaced by updated models designed to minimize risk of exposure to COVID-19 while maximizing the experience for student athletes. Members will follow NCAA guidelines for the safe return to collegiate athletics, as well as directives from all federal,

state, and local health authorities. Each campus will also determine specific protocols unique to their campus based on local circumstances, including whether fans will be permitted.

Administrators continue to keep a close eye on the pandemic and reserve the right to expand or retract schedules if appropriate. Individual member schools or teams may opt-out of competing at any time.

"Though we remain cautious, we are thrilled to move forward with plans to return to competitive sports," remarked Ray Rice, president at UMaine-Presque Isle and the chair of the NAC Presidents' Council. "It has been a long year and student athletes have missed so much already, but we have smart plans and backup plans in place. Administrators across the conference are committed to providing a meaningful experience this spring if at all possible."

Baseball, softball, men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse teams will face only one conference opponent per week, and in some cases may play multiple contests between the same two teams during the course of a week. To limit the amount of cross-state travel, all regular season conference contests will remain in-division. For baseball, softball, and men's lacrosse, the conference postseason will have two rounds. The semifinal round will pit the top-two teams per division against one another, followed by the East and West champions playing for the conference title and automatic qualifier bid (AQ) to respective NCAA championship tournaments. Because women's lacrosse has fewer participating teams, the top teams from the East and West will bypass the divisional round and go directly to the championship game.

Men's golf and women's tennis conference championships are typically contested in the fall, but are planned to line up with spring NCAA championships this year.

Men's golf teams will compete in divisional 18-hole tournaments on April 24, 2021. Teams in the East division will compete at the Waterville Country Club (Waterville, Maine), while teams in the West division compete at The College Golf Course at SUNY Delhi (Delhi, N.Y.). East and West tournament winners will play 18-holes head-to-head at The Orchards Golf Course in South Hadley, Mass. on Friday, April 30, 2021, with the winner earning the conference AQ.

The regular season and conference championships for women's tennis will be played in conjunction with the men's tennis season. The top-two teams from each gender will compete for conference titles at Apex Racket Club in Portland, Maine on Sunday, May 2, 2021. Crossover matches with partner conference NEAC to determine which teams advance to NCAA tournaments are still in planning stages.

Planning is also underway for a conference track & field event. Because access to competition and training facilities is severely restricted at this time, an invitational event will take the place of a championship meet. Cross country runners, who lost their conference championship last fall, will be able to compete in a 5K race as participants in the track & field event. The remaining fall NAC sports of men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball will not have formal conference schedules or championships, though individual teams may compete at the school's discretion. A virtual swimming and diving invitational March 12-14, will be the first conference event of the year.

Complete schedules and championship information will be posted on the conference and member institution social media channels and websites as they are finalized.

Athletic administrators will reassess plans two weeks prior to the start of seasons or events to determine if adjustments are needed. All plans remain contingent on federal, state, and local health guidance, as well as state college system and institutional realities. The health, safety, and welfare of student athletes, coaches, and entire college communities remain a priority as the NAC returns to competitive sports.

"I want to thank the athletics administrators, vice presidents and presidents for their thoughtful approach to finding a good balance between legitimate conference competition and health and safety," said Commissioner Marcella Zalot. "We are still in a global pandemic but we have learned a lot along the way. We stand ready to adjust as needed but remain hopeful the perseverance and resiliency of all, especially our student athletes, are rewarded and we are able to end the academic year on a strong and positive note with NAC competition."