AMHERST, N.Y. – Daemen College has made the difficult but necessary decision to join its fellow East Coast Conference institutions in postponing all intercollegiate athletic competitions scheduled for the Fall 2020 semester due to health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to postpone athletic competitions comes after much deliberation and consultation with medical professionals.

"This is a difficult message to deliver, but one that was not entered into lightly," said Traci Murphy, director of athletics. "Perhaps at no other time in its history has the NCAA and its member institutions been faced with such a challenge. But make no mistake about it, today's student-athletes are resilient and determined. We will work together to overcome this obstacle and achieve our objective of competing for championships no matter what month they're held in." 

The health and safety of Daemen's student-athletes, coaches, and staff is paramount to returning to competition. Daemen remains committed to providing meaningful seasons of competition for the college's 200+ student-athletes. The ECC has pledged to explore alternative solutions for fall and winter sports that are directly impacted by today's announcement. Further details, including schedule formats and postseason opportunities to commence after Jan. 1, 2021, will be announced at a later date. 

The moratorium on competitions this fall includes those for Daemen teams that compete outside the scope of the ECC: women's triathlon, men's volleyball, and cheerleading. Competition dates for spring sports are largely unaffected by this announcement. Spring sports will conduct their seasons as normal, conditions permitting.