Big East Conference soccer programs to play regionalized schedule

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Following suit with several other NCAA conferences, the Big East Conference has announced plans to regionalize its schedules for most fall sports, including men’s and women’s soccer.

Big East soccer teams will play more games against conference opponents within their regional divisions, reducing time spent on the road and lowering operating costs for athletic programs. All Big East teams will be split into two divisions, featuring a double round-robin format in the regular season.

The East Division will include: Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and UConn.

The Midwest Division will include: Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette and Xavier.

Numerous mid-major conferences have already enacted similar plans, as athletic programs are moving forward with tighter budgets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction of travel will also aim to curb the potential spread of the coronavirus, for the health and safety of student-athletes.

[+READ: Several mid-major NCAA conferences to reduce costs for upcoming soccer season]

See below for the full announcement from the conference:

“The BIG EAST Conference has announced plans for a regionalized scheduling model for conference play in fall 2020. The changes were approved by the league’s Directors of Athletics.

The changes to the 2020 fall sports regular-season schedules impact BIG EAST men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and volleyball. Soccer and volleyball will be separated into East and Midwest Divisions. Men’s soccer and women’s soccer divisional opponents will face each other two times each in a double round-robin format, while volleyball divisional opponents will play each other four times.

Geographic divisions for men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball are: Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and returning member Connecticut in the East Division; and Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette and Xavier in the Midwest Division.

Field hockey will also implement a similar model for BIG EAST play in the fall of 2020.

BIG EAST schedules will be developed using NCAA Championship date formulas to ensure completion of the conference schedules in time for the national postseason. BIG EAST fall championship dates, sites and formats will be announced at a later date.”