PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Following a unanimous vote of the Little East Conference (LEC) Presidents Council, it has been determined the LEC will not conduct conference regular season competition or championships during the Fall 2020 semester due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each LEC member institution may seek to participate in intercollegiate competition and on-campus training activities if it chooses to do so during the Fall 2020 semester, in accordance with current health and safety guidelines and NCAA Division III rules.
This difficult decision, one we know is heart-breaking for our student-athletes, was arrived at following months of weekly planning meetings by the LEC Athletic Directors Council, which sought to find a path that led to a full return of intercollegiate competition that was safe for each member of our campus communities. This was done in consultation with state and institution health officials and epidemiologists, the LEC athletic trainers, numerous campus task forces and working groups, and in consideration of recommended health and safety guidelines from the CDC and NCAA.
Work will begin immediately to create a new women’s tennis LEC regular season schedule and reschedule the men’s golf and women’s tennis championships, as the NCAA Division III Championships will be contested during the Spring 2021 semester, and examine how to best adjust the conference men’s and women’s basketball schedules to begin after the New Year.
The Conference and its athletic directors will also explore what opportunities may be available to conduct Fall sports regular seasons and championships during the Spring 2021 semester as we continue to monitor the ever-changing local, regional and national landscape as it relates to the pandemic.
About the Little East Conference
The Little East Conference (LEC) was formed in 1986 when six public institutions gathered to create a single sport athletic conference, and has expanded into what is now New England's premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III. The LEC features 19 championship sports and sponsors quality competition for our student-athletes, while following the Division III mission of "passion, responsibility, sportsmanship and citizenship." The Conference will grow to 21 championship sports for the 2020-21 academic year with the addition of men's golf and men's swimming & diving.
The Little East consists of nine primary institutions that encompass all six New England states – Castleton University (Vt.), Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College (N.H.), UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University (N.H.), Rhode Island College, University of Southern Maine, and Western Connecticut State University.