The Colonial Athletic Association is expected to announce Friday that it will cancel its football season this fall in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to media reports.
The University of Maine is a member of the CAA in football, winning the conference title in 2018. For its other sports, the university competes in the America East Conference.
SOURCES: The CAA conference is expected to announce tomorrow that the league will not be playing football this fall.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 16, 2020
The school’s athletic department did not respond to questions about the 2020 football season on Thursday evening.
According to reports, CAA football teams will still have the option of playing nonconference games if they wish. James Madison, the defending CAA champion and the national runner-up in the Football Championship Subdivision, has indicated that it intends to play a nonconference schedule.
The college football season appears to be teetering just a few weeks from when many schools would be starting full practices for the fall. The Ivy League and the Patriot League have announced their conferences will not compete in sports this fall, and the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced last week that their leagues will only compete against conference teams.
Colonial Athletic Association is expected to announce Friday the league will not be playing football this fall, @BruceFeldmanCFB reports. CAA schools had 11 games scheduled vs. FBS opponents this fall
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 16, 2020
In Maine, Bowdoin College, Bates College and the University of Southern Maine have announced that they will not compete in sports this fall. Bowdoin and Bates play football at the NCAA Division III level.
The University of Maine, a Division I school that competes in the FCS, is scheduled to open its season on Sept. 3 at Ball State. Other nonconference contests include a road game at the University of Connecticut and a home game against Monmouth University. Its other eight games are against teams in the CAA. They are scheduled to finish their season on Nov. 21 with a home game against rival New Hampshire.
UMaine advanced to the FCS semifinals for the first time in progam history in 2018. Last year, the Black Bears finished with a 6-6 record.
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