The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced a change in plans for 2021 winter and spring sports. Due in part to the continued concern with COVID-19, the SIAC announced the cancellation of conference scheduling and championship events for all winter and spring sports.
The decision seeks to balance the importance of the health and welfare concerns of student-athletes and effectively protect their safety.
Although the conference has decided to forgo winter and spring sports for the remaining part of this school year, it has given the green light for each of the SIAC institution members to elect to retain independent status to participate in non-conference competition and honor contractual schedule agreements. This is conditioned on institutions observing the standard practice of state, local, and CDC COVID-19 related public health protocols.
Baseball programs can compete with each other in the format of conference schedule and continue scheduling their SIAC games, but those games will be counted as non-conference competition and the SIAC will not count those games or fund a conference championship.
SIAC teams are going to play on and our sources say there is speculation building for the potential to organize a non-sanctioned post-season tournament amongst those teams .
Nonetheless, there will be no crowning of a conference champion which could eliminate the possibility of competing in the NCAA Division II postseason regional tournament and possibly a chance to play in the DII World Series.
Given the options that the conference has outlined, there is hope that school’s administrations could reach out to the NCAA governing body to grant an independent tournament to give the winner the opportunity to advance to NCAA regional play.
All in all, it’s a shame for the coaching staffs and the players that the SIAC won’t be holding a tournament and crown a champion in a conference that has existed since 1913.
Sadden to hear this news about the conference where I cut my baseball teeth over 50 years ago.