The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) announced major changes to its championship schedule for winter sports today, including the cancellation of the MAAC Swimming & Diving Championships. The changes impact men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball, but the most severe changes are to swimming & diving.
In its press release, the conference states that the decision was made today by the Council of presidents following feedback from the coaches, as well as a recommendation from the MAAC Swimming & Diving Committee. The MAAC also noted that they will begin conversations on potentially running a virtual swim & dive championship, where each program would be able to race at their own pools. Although no decision has been made on a virtual championship as of yet, a virtual championships would allow swimmers some form of an end-of-season championship meet.
There are 10 universities with swimming & diving programs in the MAAC. All 10 universities sponsor both men’s and women’s swimming.
MAAC Swimming & Diving Teams
- Fairfield
- Iona
- Marist
- Canisius
- Rider
- Monmouth
- Niagara
- Siena
- St. Peter’s
- Manhattan
Last year at the 2020 MAAC Championships, the Rider men’s team record its 9th-straight conference title, while the Fairfield women won their 3rd-straight.
The decision to cancel the swimming & diving championships is somewhat out of step with what we’ve seen so far from other NCAA Division I mid-major conferences. Mid-Major conferences are those DI conferences outside the Power 5 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC). Many other mid-major conferences have moved their swimming & diving championships to April, after the NCAA DI Championships.
Full statement on swimming & diving from MAAC:
“Following feedback from the swimming and diving coaches and a recommendation from the MAAC Swimming and Diving Sport Committee, endorsed by the MAAC COAA, the Council of Presidents have voted to cancel the 2021 MAAC Swimming and Diving Championships. The sport committee will begin the process of considering a virtual invitational for MAAC teams, which would be held remotely and provide student-athletes with a culmination event for a truncated pandemic related season.”
To read the full MAAC press release, click here.
Well that’s a bummer.
Volleyball – wear masks when you play
Basketball – LONGER tournament for updated protocols
Swimming – canceled
WTF?
It helps to read the article The conference coaches committee gave the recommendation to the presidents to cancel the meet. I think it’s prob fair to guess that most teams haven’t had the access to their pools much if that was the recommendation. In fact, a quick tour of some of these teams, it appears not many, if any have had any meets at all this year.