(Lawrenceville, GA) – The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, Texas Lutheran University’s conference for 15 of its 18 intercollegiate sports, announced that all of its member institutions intend to move forward with athletic competition in the spring semester.
This announcement came after continuing discussions throughout the fall semester by the league’s COVID Task Force in consultation with each institution’s president, athletic director, athletic trainer and game day management personnel.
Fifteen of TLU’s 18 intercollegiate sports programs play in the SCAC. TLU Football plays in the American Southwest Conference, and TLU’s men’s and women’s indoor track & field programs compete as independents.
TLU’s football season in the ASC remains on track as well. TLU and all of its fellow football members in the ASC will play four games against divisional opponents and a final game against a cross-divisional opponent. The conference’s football schedule will be played under a two-division model with teams closing the 2020-21 season with a playoff pitting teams cross-seeded in a single game.
TLU Football begins its 2020-21 season with a noon kickoff at Howard Payne University on Feb. 6.
In the SCAC, men’s and women’s basketball will move to a conference-only scheduling model with each team slated to play a 12-game schedule. Play is scheduled to begin Jan. 15 and run through the weekend of Feb. 26-27.
The adjusted formats maintain conference tournament opportunities and ultimately the chance to earn the SCAC’s automatic bids to the NCAA Tournaments.
For the first time since the SCAC reinstated a postseason conference basketball tournament in 2003, the men’s and women’s basketball championships will be held at different sites. The men’s teams will be hosted by Southwestern University, and the women’s teams will be hosted by Austin College. The top eight teams will qualify for each event with both tournaments scheduled to run March 4-6.
The SCAC Swimming & Diving Championships remain scheduled for Feb. 10-13 in San Antonio. This date still allows for recorded times for possible NCAA championship qualification.
Additionally, changes were made to the previously announced conference volleyball schedule. Teams will still play a 16-game schedule, but competition will be strictly conference-only and conducted via home or away doubleheaders over the course of eight weekends. Play begins Feb. 13.
Both men’s and women’s soccer schedules remain unchanged from an earlier October announcement, and the SCAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships are slated for Feb. 6 at the University of Dallas.
In an August announcement , the NCAA cancelled all Division III national championships in fall sports.
Competition and schedules in all conference-sponsored spring sports remain in place for 2021 as previously released.
For more information, be sure to check the SCAC website at www.scacsports.com and visit each of the conference members’ athletics websites. TLU’s athletics website is www.tlubulldogs.com. TLU athletics news also can be found on Twitter (@tluathletics), Instagram (@tlubulldogs), Facebook (@tlubulldogs), and YouTube (TLUBulldogs).