Northeast-10 Cancels Intercollegiate Sports for the Fall
A message from Dean Shepardson to the community
Dear Bentley Community,
This afternoon, the Northeast-10 Conference Council of Presidents, in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 and keep our student-athletes safe, unanimously voted to suspend intercollegiate athletics competition this fall.
At Bentley, team activities, practices and training opportunities will be held in compliance with Bentley and NCAA guidelines. Our student-athletes were notified by email a short time ago.
I’m sorry to share this news with you today. As dean of students and vice president for student affairs, I oversee athletics so I know how hard our student-athletes and their coaches work year-round to be able to wear that “Bentley” name on their jerseys and proudly represent our school. I also know, as a big fan of our teams for the 27 years I’ve been at Bentley, how cheering on our student-athletes can bring us together as a community. Let’s be honest, it can be a lot of fun, too.
But the health and safety of our students, coaches, faculty and staff are our top concern. Bentley and other Northeast-10 schools have been working hard to prepare to reopen campuses this fall, consulting with public health experts and relying on medical guidelines to create safe learning environments. Holding an intercollegiate athletics season would go against some of the same physical distancing requirements, travel restrictions and limits on group gatherings that we are enacting to protect our health and safety on campus this fall.
You can find more details on the university’s plan to return to campus here, including a list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions on many topics including Athletics, Housing and Academics.
I’m sorry that today’s news is another example of how this fall will be different than in past years. But I’m looking forward to welcoming our student-athletes and the rest of our community back to campus next month. It will be great to be back together as a Falcon Family once again.
Andrew Shepardson
Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs