St. John’s Athletics: Val Ackerman updates a potential return to sports
An update was given on Friday afternoon by Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman to a potential return of sports in the conference and when the St. John’s athletic teams could be back on the field.
On Friday afternoon, Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman updated a potential return to sports in the conference via a conference call with the media.
The Big East was heavily scrutinized for allowing St. John’s and Creighton to play the first half of its quarterfinal game in the conference tournament prior to the cancellation of the event while virtually all other Men’s Basketball Conference Tournaments were being canned.
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Ackerman described that she didn’t see the need to pull the teams off the court mid-way through the first half back on March 12 but now conferences are being had to see when sports can return this summer and fall.
The biggest takeaway from the commissioner’s comments were that athletes will not be brought back to their respective schools until the campus is fully open and operational for all students.
Ackerman also said that its possible for some schools to resume athletic activities in the conference while other schools may remained closed because of COVID-19.
New York (St. John’s) and New Jersey (Seton Hall) have been the two states hit the hardest in the coronavirus pandemic while Connecticut, Pennsylvania (Villanova), and Rhode Island (Providence) have also been severely impacted by the virus.
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While the Big East does not have the major decision to make regarding the return of college football, Ackerman said there should be a decision on fall sports in the conference by late June or early July.
The date of September 1, or around Labor Day, was floated by the commissioner on a decision regarding college basketball and if the conference’s biggest sport will start on time or be delayed.
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Val Ackerman said that the conference is currently operating like things are business as usual surrounding the start of men’s and women’s college basketball season.
Until these dates approach, there isn’t much to expect from the Big East as the entire country continues to wait on a potential remedy or vaccine for COVID-19 that could help bring things somewhat back to normal.