By Lauren Gudknecht
Sports Editor

On Oct. 8 the East Coast Conference (ECC) announced new plans for returning to competition this upcoming spring. 

With the approval from the athletic directors, the conference has finalized a schedule for both the men’s and women’s basketball season. A  timeframe for an initial plan to move these fall sports along with men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball has been approved for spring, according to eccsports.org.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, competition will take place with ECC, NCAA, school, local and state regulations. The men’s and women’s basketball teams will play a full 18-game, double round-robin slate beginning on Jan. 9, 2021. 

There is no change for the ECC Basketball Championship, as the tournament is still taking place March 3, 6 and 7, but for 2021 only, the brackets will be expanded to eight teams. 

“This plan for basketball beginning in January was developed with the health and safety of team members and coaches as our top priority,” said ECC Commissioner Dr, Robert Dranoff in a statement to eccsports.org.

The dates for soccer and volleyball have also been approved, as the season will begin the week of March 8 with the ECC Championships the weekends of April 10-11 for women’s volleyball and April 17-18 for men’s and women’s soccer.

“We will keep planning to move forward for winter and spring sports to provide limited schedules for volleyball and soccer, but also know that we have to be prepared to adjust if we are required to do so,” Dranoff added.

With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will certainly be more challenges to face in order to provide a safe and positive experience for all ECC student-athletes during competition. 

The Keystone will continue to provide updates on further developments.