Letter from Director of Athletics Bill Smith

Hello Bulldogs:
I hope this note finds you and your family well. I am writing to you today with the exciting news that the Northeast Conference Council of Presidents has adopted a regular season and postseason tournament format for men's and women's basketball.

This is very exciting news for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and the entire Bryant community. We can't wait to watch our Bulldogs get back on the court and compete for an NEC Championship.

Today's news comes thanks to the tireless efforts of so many people across our Bryant campus over the past nine months. I could not thank them enough for their contributions, not only to our athletic programs but to our entire University. Coupled with successfully making it through the fall semester with students on campus, it is truly a great day to be a Bulldog!  

The regular season scheduling model adopted today was built in consultation with conference administrators and the NEC COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee. The schedule was designed to meet COVID testing guidelines, and drastically mitigate travel and the risk of exposure to help ensure the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, and support staff.

2020-21 NEC Basketball Regular-Season scheduling format info:

• 18-game, double round-robin regular season has been retained
• Men's and women's schedules will be mirrored
• Aside from contests vs. travel partners, games will be played on back-to-back days against the same opponent at the same site, primarily in a Thursday/Friday format
• Schools will play their travel partner home-and-home
• Conference play will begin December 8 with each school playing three or four times in December
• Following the holiday break, the NEC schedule will resume on January 7
• Six mid-week makeup dates have been incorporated into the schedule

The scheduling of non-conference games has been left up to the discretion of each institution. We are working hard to put together an appropriate non-conference schedule that takes into account health and safety concerns.

As mentioned above, strict COVID testing protocols have been put into place to keep our student-athletes, coaches, and staff safe. This includes testing three times a week and immediate testing upon the return from games out of state.

In closing, I'd like to thank all of those who have helped us get to this point and reaffirm our continued dedication to providing our student-athletes, coaches, staff, and greater Bryant community with the safest environment to compete, learn and grow. We will get through this together because we are Bulldogs and we bleed Black and Gold!

Bill Smith
Director of Athletics