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CAA Announces Revised Championships Schedule For The 2020-21 Season

RICHMOND, Va. – The Colonial Athletic Association has announced its revised conference championship schedule for the 2020-21 season as well as new scheduling formats for regular-season competition.

With the movement of fall sports to the spring due to the CoVID 19 pandemic, the CAA is planning to conduct 21 championships over an 11-week period starting in early March and concluding in late May.

The conference has adopted divisional scheduling formats in the sports of baseball, women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball and volleyball with the goal of reducing travel and limiting overnight stays.

"I'd like to thank the CAA athletic directors, senior woman administrators and conference staff for the countless hours they've dedicated to putting together schedules that will allow our teams to compete this spring," CAA Commissioner Joe D'Antonio said. "The health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes and coaches remains at the forefront of all decisions that we have made and will continue to make. We are excited to provide an opportunity for our student-athletes, who have endured so much over the past 10 months, to be able to return to competition."

Below is a sport-by-sport breakdown that includes championship dates, locations and field sizes, as well as the regular-season scheduling format.


FIELD HOCKEY
Regular-season conference schedule: 6-game round-robin schedule.
CAA Championship: April 22 & 24, 2021 – University of Delaware/Newark, Del. – Top 4 teams

MEN'S GOLF
CAA Championship: April 25-27, 2021 – Dataw Island, St. Helena Island, SC – 9 teams

MEN'S LACROSSE
Regular-season conference schedule: 8-game conference schedule. Round-robin plus three additional games.
CAA Championship: May 6 & 8, 2021 – Hofstra University/Hempstead, NY – Top 4 teams

WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Regular-season conference schedule: 4-game divisional conference schedule. Round-robin plus one additional game in North Division. Double round-robin in South Division.
North Division: Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, Towson
South Division: Elon, James Madison, William & Mary
CAA Championship: May 7 & 9, 2021 – James Madison University/Harrisonburg, VA – 5 teams (top 2 teams in each division plus 1 at-large selection)

WOMEN'S ROWING
CAA Championship: May 16, 2021 – Cooper River/Pennsauken, NJ – 6 teams

MEN'S SOCCER
Regular-season conference schedule: 4-game divisional conference schedule. Round-robin plus one additional game in North Division. Round-robin in South Division.
North Division: Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, Northeastern
South Division: Charleston, Elon, JMU, UNCW, William & Mary
CAA Championship: April 15 & 17, 2021 – Drexel University/Philadelphia, PA – 4 teams (top 2 teams in each division)

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Regular-season conference schedule: 4-game round-robin divisional conference schedule
North Division: Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, Northeastern, Towson
South Division: Charleston, Elon, JMU, UNCW, William & Mary
CAA Championship: April 15-17, 2021 – Towson University/Towson, MD – 4 teams (top 2 teams in each division)

SOFTBALL
Regular-season conference schedule: 18-game divisional conference schedule. Double round-robin within the division.
North Division: Delaware, Drexel, Hofstra, Towson
South Division: Charleston, Elon, JMU, UNCW
CAA Championship: May 12-15, 2021 – James Madison University/Harrisonburg, VA – 5-team double-elimination tournament (top 2 teams in each division plus 1 at-large selection)

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
CAA Championship: Diving: March 26-27, 2021 – University of Delaware/Newark, Del. – 4 men's teams and 6 women's teams
Swimming: March 29-April 2, 2021 - Christiansburg Aquatic Center/Christiansburg, VA – 5 men's teams and 7 women's teams

MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
CAA Championship: April 30-May 2, 2021 – William & Mary/Williamsburg, VA - 8 teams

WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
CAA Championship: April 22-25, 2021 – William & Mary/Williamsburg, VA – 9 teams

BASEBALL
Regular-season conference schedule: 24-game divisional conference schedule. Double round-robin plus two additional series in North Division. Double round-robin in South Division.
North Division: Delaware, Hofstra, Northeastern, Towson
South Division: Charleston, Elon, James Madison, UNCW, William & Mary
CAA Championship: May 26-30, 2021 – UNCW/Wilmington, NC – 6-team double-elimination tournament. (top 2 teams in each division plus 2 at-large selections)

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
CAA Championship: March 5, 2021 – UNCW/Wilmington, NC – 6 men's teams, 9 women's teams

WOMEN'S GOLF
CAA Championship: April 16-18, 2021 – Clubs at St. James (Reserve Course) – Southport, NC – 8 teams

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP
CAA Championship: April 30-May 1, 2021 – James Madison University/Harrisonburg, VA - 4 men's teams and 9 women's teams

VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Regular-season conference schedule: 8-game divisional conference schedule. Double round-robin plus two additional games in the North Division. Double round-robin in the South Division.
North Division: Delaware, Hofstra, Northeastern, Towson
South Division: Charleston, Elon, JMU, UNCW and William & Mary
CAA Championship: April 1 & 3, 2021 – Towson University/Towson, MD (top 2 teams in each division)

The top four teams (Towson, Drexel, JMU, and Hofstra) in the CAA are a combined 12-0 with impressive wins including Towson's blowout win over Loyola, and Drexel's blowout wins over Georgetown and Temple. The league right now is arguably the third best in the country behind the ACC and the B10. Although I will concede the B10 at top is very strong, I am not sure how good Hopkins, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Michigan are.

I enjoy seeing other leagues/conferences doing well. The CAA has gotten off to a good start but I would say the most impressive victory for the conference was Towson over Loyola. I'm not sure the Drexel victories are impressive give the state of Georgetown with covid necessitating the shutdown of the lacrosse program where two games were postponed before their first game of the season vs Drexel. Not very impressed with the win over Temple but they have indeed had a good start. How much do you attribute Towson's success this season so far to the addition of Nikki Sliwak from Maryland? The only way we'll really see what these teams can do and how good they are is how they do in The Tournament, depending on which of these teams make it. You may also get a little pushback from the A10 conference as to which conference is stronger. In any event, I enjoy watching Towson, Drexel and Hofstra have success.

JMU with their 500th win in program history the other day vs George Mason. They are only the 5th university to accomplish this in D1 womens lacrosse. Good to see the other schools like Drexel, Towson and Hofstra challenge the Dukes who are seeking their 4th straight CAA title.

Cletus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 05, 2021 4:45 am I enjoy seeing other leagues/conferences doing well. The CAA has gotten off to a good start but I would say the most impressive victory for the conference was Towson over Loyola. I'm not sure the Drexel victories are impressive give the state of Georgetown with covid necessitating the shutdown of the lacrosse program where two games were postponed before their first game of the season vs Drexel. Not very impressed with the win over Temple but they have indeed had a good start. How much do you attribute Towson's success this season so far to the addition of Nikki Sliwak from Maryland? The only way we'll really see what these teams can do and how good they are is how they do in The Tournament, depending on which of these teams make it. You may also get a little pushback from the A10 conference as to which conference is stronger. In any event, I enjoy watching Towson, Drexel and Hofstra have success.

Nikki Sliwak is a very talented player. From Wantagh NY, things didn't work out for her at UMD, I am glad she was able to salvage this final year and showcase her considerable talent...

Joe

There’s no NCAA tournament thread.

Tournament field
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 28 teams were invited to participate. 15 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 13 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records

Drexel is getting real close to At Large eligible.
They’ll need to take out Navy. Three regular season
games left.
How much can their numbers change ?
Their RPI is top 10, #7 in some ratings.
I think numerically, they’re in.
This would of course be their first ever NCAA.

10stone5 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:03 pm There’s no NCAA tournament thread.

Tournament field
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 28 teams were invited to participate. 15 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 13 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records

Drexel is getting real close to At Large eligible.
They’ll need to take out Navy. Three regular season
games left.
How much can their numbers change ?
Their RPI is top 10, #7 in some ratings.
I think numerically, they’re in.
This would of course be their first ever NCAA.

Speaking of NCAA tourney it will be interesting to see how they determine sites as to taking into consideration covid protocol. I wonder how different the tourney will be this year. Same amount of teams?

Laxfan500 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:47 am

10stone5 wrote: ↑Sun Apr 04, 2021 5:03 pm There’s no NCAA tournament thread.

Tournament field
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 28 teams were invited to participate. 15 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 13 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records

Drexel is getting real close to At Large eligible.
They’ll need to take out Navy. Three regular season games left.
How much can their numbers change ?
Their RPI is top 10, #7 in some ratings.
I think numerically, they’re in.
This would of course be their first ever NCAA.

Speaking of NCAA tourney it will be interesting to see how they determine sites as to taking into consideration covid protocol. I wonder how different the tourney will be this year. Same amount of teams?

I doubt the NCAA will alter the postseason format or number of teams admitted. The Ivy usually contributes 2-3 teams to the dance. One automatic and one or two at-large entries. That's 2 or more other teams that will be able to participate this year in place. Drexel might not need an at-large this year. They could get an automatic with the way they're playing. But it's looking like a big war between Drexel, Elon, Towson and JMU for supremacy in the CAA in the conference tournament this year. I'd like to see Drexel get in. Always nice to see new teams and players experience the excitement of going to The Tournament for the first time.

Laxfan500 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:47 am
Speaking of NCAA tourney it will be interesting to see how they determine sites as to taking into consideration covid protocol. I wonder how different the tourney will be this year. Same amount of teams?

I don't know if you saw this yet Laxfan, but here's the answer to that question. A number of us were wondering about the same thing.

From the NCAA 2021 Pre-Championship 2020-21 Manual:

“NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship provides for a 29-team, single-elimination tournament. For the 2021 championship, 16 conference automatic bids will be awarded, and 13 teams will be selected at large.”

We're guessing the vacated Ivy AQ will be replaced with an additional at-large bid.

If Drexel wins this one, its gotta be a lock
to make the tournament with the numbers they’re
talking about.

They’re wiping out the Mids,
9-2 still 1st half.

10stone5 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:04 pm If Drexel wins this one, its gotta be a lock
to make the tournament with the numbers they’re
talking about.

They’re wiping out the Mids,
9-2 still 1st half.

just posted this in another thread - Drexel is looking good against Navy, winning 12-5 halfway through 2nd half. Drexel is a very nice team and has a real shot of winning the CAA and getting an automatic bid, but at this point if they hold on and beat Navy I think they are also guaranteed an at large bid.

8meterPA wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:45 pm

10stone5 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 6:04 pm If Drexel wins this one, its gotta be a lock
to make the tournament with the numbers they’re
talking about.

They’re wiping out the Mids,
9-2 still 1st half.

just posted this in another thread - Drexel is looking good against Navy, winning 12-5 halfway through 2nd half. Drexel is a very nice team and has a real shot of winning the CAA and getting an automatic bid, but at this point if they hold on and beat Navy I think they are also guaranteed an at large bid.

Its just,
with the Ivies out and an expansion of the number of
invites, its really hard to see where they don’t get in
AQ or At Large,
great RPI as of now,

1st ever NCAA bid.

It's nice to see them do well, a lot of 5th year players on the team. I thought it was a great idea to take the Loyola game on little notice to help their RPI and get them battle tested for the tournament. If goes according to plan, they will meet JMU in the CAA finals and they have a real shot of getting their first win (i think) over JMU and winning the CAA. They are a fun team to watch.

8meterPA wrote: ↑Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:16 pm It's nice to see them do well, a lot of 5th year players on the team. I thought it was a great idea to take the Loyola game on little notice to help their RPI and get them battle tested for the tournament. If goes according to plan, they will meet JMU in the CAA finals and they have a real shot of getting their first win (i think) over JMU and winning the CAA. They are a fun team to watch.

I like the fact that they are very balanced on offense with so many strong contributors. Absolutely a fun team to watch !

Just saw that Drexel is scheduled to play Penn 4/28. Really excited to see this one!

wlaxphan20 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:43 am Just saw that Drexel is scheduled to play Penn 4/28. Really excited to see this one!

agreed, but won't be the same Penn team - a substantial amount of kids are sitting out this year to keep eligibility. Still think it will be a competitive.

8meterPA wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:15 pm

wlaxphan20 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:43 am Just saw that Drexel is scheduled to play Penn 4/28. Really excited to see this one!

agreed, but won't be the same Penn team - a substantial amount of kids are sitting out this year to keep eligibility. Still think it will be a competitive.

Bizarre situation. No one else in the Ivy is playing any games this season, that we've heard about anyway. And with all the Penn players opting out this year, will this be anything other than a Fall Ball/scrimmage game?

8meterPA wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 12:15 pm

wlaxphan20 wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 11:43 am Just saw that Drexel is scheduled to play Penn 4/28. Really excited to see this one!

agreed, but won't be the same Penn team - a substantial amount of kids are sitting out this year to keep eligibility. Still think it will be a competitive.

Yes very true, and McMahon transferring to USC!

Very nice matchup for CAA play to begin with. Both teams having good years so far, both ranked in the mid teens this week. This should be a good one. It's at Towson so get ready for the post Tiger goal light show. Prime time first draw at 6pm