UMass Dartmouth football players won’t be returning to the field this fall after the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference announced last week that it would be suspending competitions for the season due to the pandemic.

Out of all of UMass Dartmouth’s fall programs, only football is in MASCAC. The others are in the Little East Conference, which has yet to announce its plans for the upcoming season.

According to a statement from the MASCAC Council of Presidents, state universities will be providing student-athletes with in-person practices, conditioning, and training opportunities during the season, and officials are considering alternative competition options like shifting fall athletics to the spring.

“Unfortunately, the highly contagious nature of the Covid-19 virus and the risk of community spread through conference competition proved too great a risk to our student athletes to engage in conference play,” stated MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann.

“Though our football student-athletes will undoubtedly be disappointed they may be unable to play in their traditional time and conference, we understand the rationale for today’s announcement,” the UMass Dartmouth Athletics Department stated in a July 16 release. “...an action plan for remaining Fall 2020 intercollegiate competition under the Little East Conference umbrella will be reviewed and discussed later this month.”

“As has been the case throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the health, safety and welfare of our student-athletes will continue to be the focal point of all decisions made on intercollegiate athletic competition in these unprecedented times,” the statement continued.

A final decision on other fall sports will be made no later than August 1.