Courtesy of the Big South Conference
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) — As with all intercollegiate athletics conferences and institutions across the country, the Big South Conference and its member institutions have been exploring efficiencies to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. While minimizing the impact on the quality of the Big South student-athlete experience was a primary guideline in the evaluation of appropriate efficiencies, all areas of Conference operations, regular season competition, and championships formats received scrutiny.
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The thorough and painstaking process resulted in the approval by the Big South Conference Executive Committee of several actions for the 2020-21 season, the highlights of which include:
· Delaying for one year the neutral site format for the Hercules Tires Big South Conference Basketball Championships. The Conference will return to on-campus sites for both men’s and women’s basketball in March 2021, then move to Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C., in 2022.
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· Seven sports — women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, softball and baseball — will limit its championship fields to just the top four teams in 2020-21.
· The soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and softball championships will be held on-campus. Baseball will remain at SEGRA Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C., and the tennis championships will be at a previously-approved central location.
· Women’s and men’s golf championships shall each be shortened by one day in 2021.
· Outdoor track & field will remain a three-day event, but will be moved from early-May to mid-April when classes are still in session.
· The cross country championships shall be moved to a central location and will be moved to a Friday afternoon.
· Established minimum standards for basketball scheduling, staffing and operations budgets shall be suspended for one year.
· Football and basketball media days, as well as most planned Conference meetings, shall be held virtually.
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“The actions taken by the Big South Executive Committee are unprecedented, but we are in unprecedented times,” commented Big South Commissioner Kyle Kallander. “While we couldn’t avoid some impact, I am proud of the collaborative process our member institutions undertook to be strategic in protecting the Big South student-athlete experience long-term. With the recent expansion of membership in a smart, regional manner, success in corporate partnership growth, and excellence on the field of play, the future of the Big South remains extremely bright.”
The 2020-21 Big South championship schedule and hosts are still being finalized and will be announced at a later date.
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