Big East Postpones Fall Sports Season Due To COVID-19 Pandemic

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The Big East on Wednesday joined the growing list of conferences not playing sports in the fall.

Affected sports include men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, volleyball and field hockey.

"This very difficult decision came after an exhaustive review by our Presidents and Athletics Directors and followed consideration of NCAA guidance, COVID-19 case counts and trend lines nationally and in Big East communities, and the many unknowns surrounding testing availability, turnaround time and travel restrictions in our 11 locales," said Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman.

Teams will still be allowed to practice and have team activities that are consistent with individual campus policies.

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The conference says it will assess alternative options, including playing in spring 2021.

Men's and women's basketball are not affected at this time and will be evaluated at a later point.

Tuesday, the Big Ten and Pac-12 decided to postpone all fall sports. Both conferences also hope to play in spring 2021.

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(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)