ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) has announced its plans to proceed with spring sports and swimming beginning in March. The return dates, schedules and championship formats have been determined.
Below is explanation of each sport’s return date, schedule and championship format for the spring semester. However, the safety and well-being of our student-athletes and campus communities remain a priority. All plans are subject to change due to the realities of the pandemic.
BASEBALL (Albright Baseball Schedule)
Baseball is set to move forward with all nine MAC Commonwealth and all eight MAC Freedom programs competing. The season is set to begin with conference play on Saturday, March 13, however, teams have the autonomy to play games as early as Saturday, March 6 if weather permits.
A seven-week conference slate will allow the MAC Freedom to play every conference opponent, while the MAC Commonwealth is scheduled to play six conference opponents. With the possibility of opening the season on March 6, baseball can schedule a maximum of 28 games. The structure will be a four-game series against each opponent that consists of a seven-inning game and then a nine-inning game on Saturday at one location, and then a seven-inning and then a nine-inning game on Sunday at the other location.
The championship format for 2021 only will be an all-comers tournament beginning on Tuesday, April 27 with a single nine-inning play-in game in the MAC Commonwealth between the No. 8 seed and No. 9 seed. The quarterfinal (May 1-2), semifinal (May 8-9) and final (May 15-16) rounds will see a three-game series over two days with the higher seeds hosting two nine-inning games on the first day and the lower seeds hosting the if-necessary game the next day.
SOFTBALL (Albright Softball Schedule)
Softball is set to move forward with all nine MAC Commonwealth and all nine MAC Freedom programs competing. The season is set to begin with conference play on Saturday, March 13, however, teams have the autonomy to play games as early as Saturday, March 6 if weather permits.
A six-week conference slate will allow for each team to compete against six teams. Teams have the ability to schedule a maximum of 28 games in eight-weeks of play. The structure will be a four-game series against each opponent that consists of two seven-inning games on Saturday at one location, and then two seven-inning games on Sunday at the other location.
The championship format for 2021 only will be an all-comers tournament beginning April 24-25 with the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed three-game series. All other teams will have the opportunity to play in a crossover that weekend. The No. 8/9 play-in (April 24-25), quarterfinal (May 1-2), semifinal (May 8-9) and final (May 15-16) rounds will see a three-game series over two days with the higher seeds hosting a doubleheader on the first day and the lower seeds hosting the if-necessary game the next day.
MEN’S LACROSSE (Albright Men’s Lacrosse Schedule)
Men’s lacrosse is set to move forward with all nine MAC Commonwealth and all nine MAC Freedom programs competing. The season is set to begin on Saturday, March 6.
The eight-week regular season will begin with back-to-back crossover games on Saturday, March 6 and Saturday, March 13. The conference slate of a single-round robin will begin on Wednesday, March 17 and run through Saturday, April 24. The teams will have the ability to schedule an additional three games for a maximum of 13 games.
The championship format for 2021 only will be an all-comers tournament beginning Wednesday, April 28 with the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed play-in game. The quarterfinal (May 1), semifinal (May 5) and final (May 8) rounds will be played at the higher seeds.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE (Albright Women’s Lacrosse Schedule)
Women’s lacrosse is set to move forward with all nine MAC Commonwealth and all nine MAC Freedom programs competing. The season is set to being on Saturday, March 6.
The eight-week regular season will begin with back-to-back crossover games on Saturday, March 6 and Saturday, March 13. The conference slate of a single-round robin will begin on Wednesday, March 17 and run through Saturday, April 21. The teams will have the ability to schedule an additional three games for a maximum of 13 games.
The championship format for 2021 only will be an all-comers tournament beginning Saturday, April 24 with the No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed play-in game. The quarterfinal (April 27), semifinal (April 29) and final (May 1) rounds will be played at the higher seeds.
MEN’S & WOMEN’S SWIMMING
Men’s and women’s swimming programs have been given autonomy to schedule a hybrid of in-person and virtual competitions. Teams are allowed to compete as early as March 5, through the MAC Championship event concluding April 16-18. For the conference championship, competing teams will follow the NCAA three session championship format over the course of two or three days. Multiple sites will be used to host the event with individual results compiled to crown individual and team champions.
MEN’S & WOMEN’S GOLF
Men’s and women’s golf have been given autonomy to create a schedule that gets them enough dates to earn the conference’s automatic qualifier (AQ) to the NCAA Championship. The regular season will conclude with three championship events on the dates and locations listed below.
| MAC Commonwealth Men’s Golf | April 24-25 | Iron Valley GC (Lebanon, Pa.) |
| MAC Freedom Men’s Golf | April 24-25 | Huntsville GC (Dallas, Pa.) |
| MAC Women’s Golf | May 1-2 | Golden Oaks GC (Fleetwood, Pa.) |
MEN’S & WOMEN’S TENNIS
Men’s and women’s tennis are set to move forward with all eight MAC Freedom programs and seven MAC Commonwealth programs competing. The season is set to begin on Saturday, March 20.
The seven-week schedule will begin with just one match a week over the first four weeks. The final three weeks will see two matches per week for a total of 10 matches.
The championship format for 2021 only will be an all-comers tournament. The men’s tennis championship dates are as follows: quarterfinal (May 3), semifinal (May 5) and final (May 8). The women’s tennis championship dates are as follows: quarterfinal (May 4), semifinal (May 6) and final (May 8).
Stay tuned to albrightathletics.com for the releases of the Men’s and Women’s Swimming, Men’s and Women’s Golf, and Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Schedules in the coming weeks.
You Might Also Like
Photo Feature: NASCAR Racing at Pocono Raceway, July 22nd & 23rd, 2022
Three Lions Named NFHCA Collegiate Scholar of Distinction
