WINTHROP, Mass. – Following the NCAA announcement on Thursday afternoon to cancel all remaining winter and spring championships, and recognizing the spread and ongoing threat of COVID-19, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Presidents' Council voted unanimously to make the difficult decision to call off all spring competition, practices, and championships for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.
As all parties continue to monitor the hourly developments and spread of the 2019 novel Coronavirus, many GNAC member institutions have already shifted to temporary or semester-long online learning structures prior to Friday's announcement.
While league administrators and presidents have worked diligently over the last week as the crisis has rapidly developed across the globe, the discontinuation of our spring sports is necessary in order to best prioritize and protect the health and safety of our student-athletes and surrounding communities.
The NCAA is also encouraging schools and conferences to make decisions and take action in the best interest of their students and campuses.
GNAC Presidents' Council
Marc M. Camille, Ed.D., Albertus Magnus College
Mary Lou Retelle, Anna Maria College
Susan D. Stuebner, Ed.D., Colby-Sawyer College
Sister Janet Eisner, Emmanuel College
Marie Bernardo-Sousa, LP.D., Johnson & Wales University (RI)
Michael B. Alexander, Lasell University
Richard Schneider, Ph.D., Norwich University
Antoinette Hays, Ph.D., Regis College
Sister Paula Marie Buley, IHM, Rivier University
Rhona C. Free, Ph.D., University of Saint Joseph (CT)
Dr. James Dlugos, Saint Joseph's College of Maine
Helen G. Drinan, Simmons University
Marisa J. Kelly, Suffolk University
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.