Bates Bobcats’ conference not ready to commit to spring sports in 2021

The New England Small College Athletic Conference is already bracing for the possibility of another lost season.

On Wednesday, a statement, addressed from the presidents of each school within the NESCAC, read that conditions “will need to improve significantly to conduct conference competition this spring.”

Bates College, along with Bowdoin and Colby, is a member of the NESCAC.

No decision has yet been made on whether there will or will not be a season as of press time. The statement went on to say that if there were to be a spring season, it would not start until late March or early April and “would necessarily be limited in scope and duration.”

If the season were to be canceled, it would be two consecutive spring seasons ended by the coronavirus pandemic. Only a few games were played by NESCAC spring teams before the season was terminated last March.

“We recognize how important athletic competition is to many of our students and our communities, and we understand the dismay many of you feel at the possibility that spring conference competition might be canceled two years in a row,” the statement read. “The Presidents will take this into consideration when making a final decision in late February or early March.”

Three Maine schools — Colby College in Waterville, Bates College in Lewiston and Bowdoin College in Brunswick — are linked to the NESCAC.