The day before the Ivy League was expected to announce it would move football to the spring, Fordham canceled its first three soccer matches, a move that was in line with guidelines imposed by the Patriot League, the school announced Tuesday.
The canceled games are home matches against Stony Brook on August 29, Bryant on September 5 and a trip to Hawaii on September 12. Rams hopes to add games for the week bye scheduled for October 24.
The Patriot League has set guidelines for the autumn sports calendar which includes a ban on flying for matches, which is why Hawaiian matches are canceled, and student athletes can only return to campus when other students do it. Because Fordham students were not scheduled to return to campus until August 17, and six weeks were needed for the training camp, two home games were canceled. Fordham will now open its season in Monmouth on September 26.
“I am disappointed with our athlete-students, coaches, staff and fans that we have to cancel the first three matches of the season, but the health and well-being of our athlete-students is our number one priority,” Fordham’s temporary athletics director Ed Kull said in a statement . “When we return to campus, we will follow all the guidelines and precautions mandated by the NCAA, the Patriot League and the University to protect all those involved in our programs and departments.
“We will continue to monitor the evolving situation and work closely with the University Reopening Group, the Fordham Athletics Pandemic Committee and the Patriot League to assist in modifying our strategic plan to enable our student athletes to return to campus in the safest way. “
While some Division III programs have canceled football, there are no Division I schools that haven’t. The Ivy League, however, could be the first on Wednesday when it announced what it would do with the fall sport.
There is a thunderous Patriot League that can follow the Ivy League if it pushes football, along with other autumn sports, into spring. A source told The Post that a meeting of the presidents and athletics directors of the Patriot League was scheduled for Friday, when the autumn sports plan would be discussed further.
