PITMAN — The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Board of Athletic Administrators, in coordination with the administration at each of its full-member institutions, today announced its plans for the 2021 conference women’s and men’s basketball seasons. If conditions permit, each participating basketball program will compete in eight regular season conference games with the first contests tentatively scheduled for February 5. In adherence with the current New Jersey Department of Health Guidance for Sport Activities guidelines, spectators will not be permitted unless state guidance changes at some point in the season.
The NCAA Sport Science Institute Resocialization Recommendations for the Return to Sport will be followed in adherence with the NJAC competition plan that has been developed. Under the NJAC scheduling model for this year, teams will play the same opponent on both Friday and Saturday at alternating sites. In addition, the traditional NJAC basketball women’s/men’s doubleheader format will not be utilized in spring 2021. Each participating NJAC school will host either a single women’s game or a single men’s game on each of the designated Friday or Saturday league playing dates.
If conditions permit, the NJAC Women’s & Men’s Basketball Championship Tournaments will take place during the first week of March. The tournament details will be determined at a later date. The winners of the NJAC Tournaments will receive the automatic qualifications to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournaments, with NCAA tournament selections scheduled for March 6.
Under the NJAC competition plan developed by the Board of Athletic Administrators and approved by the NJAC Presidents Council, each member institution will be given the opportunity to determine whether or not it will participate in each league sport that is scheduled during the spring 2021 semester. Kean University, Montclair State University, New Jersey City University, Rutgers University-Camden, Rutgers University-Newark, Stockton University, The College of New Jersey, and William Paterson University have elected to participate in women’s and men’s basketball.
Announcements about other NJAC sport competitions and championships are expected to be made at a later date.