2020-21 Men's Schedule | 2020-21 Women's Schedule
EDISON, N.J. (Nov. 16, 2020) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today released revised basketball schedules for the 2020-21 season. The MAAC Council of Presidents adjusted the season's scheduling format in early November after taking into consideration evolving COVID-19 testing, travel and venue standards. Saint Peter's will open its season with the men hosting Niagara the weekend of Dec. 11-12, while the women travel to face the Purple Eagles that same weekend.
The new schedules feature a Friday/Saturday playing format at the same venue for both games, with 24 hours of spacing between the two contests. The men's and women's schedules mirror each other so that one institution's program is home while the other is away, both facing the same opponent. Teams have the weekend of Dec. 25-26 open for the holiday break, where non-conference games are permitted to be scheduled. In addition, the weekend of Feb. 22-27 remains open for all teams as an opportunity to make up any conference games due to COVID-19 disruptions.
As stated in the recently announced
revised scheduling policy release, MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor noted "The MAAC's goal with the revised scheduling format is to complete the conference season and meet the NCAA minimum of 13 Division I games to be played by teams. In light of the evolving state and local health standards, the increasing levels of infection rates, and decisions related to testing teams and officials three times a week for COVID-19, the MAAC membership revised its existing format for this season. The health and safety of our student-athletes and those associated with our programs is the priority of the Council of Presidents."
The Council is also in the process of reviewing draft guidelines for Commissioner Ensor to use in the rescheduling of make-up games this season, anticipating disruptions to the schedule caused by the pandemic. The draft policy would grant the commissioner wide latitude and flexibility in rescheduling games, working with the Director of Athletics of the institutions affected, but relying on the commissioner to make the final decision. This would also apply to any additional games that may be scheduled between MAAC teams in their effort to reach the NCAA minimum of 13 contests, including up to four total contests between schools.
"With the focus on conference scheduling, and given COVID-19 disruptions, it is unlikely most schools will play the maximum NCAA limit of 27 games," said Ensor. "Non-conference games, while helpful for conditioning teams for conference competition, are not mandatory and need to be evaluated to insure student-athlete safety. It's at an institution's discretion how many non-conference games should be played."
Television information and start times will be announced at a later date.
Men's Schedule Highlights
- The Peacocks start their season hosting Niagara before traveling to face New Jersey rival Monmouth.
- After traveling to Monmouth and Canisius over the next two weekends, Saint Peter's will host Fairfield in its first weekend series of 2021 from Jan 8-9.
- The Peacocks will have two challenging back-to-back road matchups at Iona (Jan. 15-16) and Siena (Jan. 22-23), representing the top two teams selected in this year's MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Three of the final four weekend series of the year will be at home for Saint Peter's, with bouts against Manhattan (Jan. 29-30), in-state rival Rider (Feb. 5-6) and Marist (Feb. 19-20) sandwiched around its final road series at Quinnipiac (Feb. 12-13).
Women's Schedule Highlights
- After starting the season on the road against Niagara, Saint Peter's welcomes Monmouth (Dec. 18-19) to town for its first home series before ushering in the New Year against Canisius (Jan. 1-2).
- A quick weekend trip up to Fairfield will lead to back-to-back home weekend series against Iona (Jan. 15-16) and Siena (Jan. 22-23).
- The Peacocks will be on the road for three of the last four weekends of the year including a back-to-back bout to round out January and start February against preseason favorite Manhattan (Jan. 29-30) and last year's regular season champion Rider (Feb. 5-6).
- Saint Peter's will welcome Quinnipiac for its final home weekend series of the year on Feb. 12-13 before traveling to Marist to close out its 20-game league slate the following weekend (Feb. 19-20).
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.
