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The Colonial Athletic Association has announced that Elon University’s men’s basketball game against Hofstra University on Dec. 31 has been postponed.
The game was originally scheduled for 12:00 p.m. in Schar Center, but was called off due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols within Elon’s program. Elon Athletics did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment to explain what the COVID-19 health and safety protocols are.
With the COVID-19 Omicron variant spreading, over 100 NCAA men’s basketball programs have gone on pause in December due to COVID-19 protocols. On Tuesday, the CAA announced a new policy for men’s and women’s basketball games impacted by the pandemic: If a team has at least seven players and one coach, it must participate in any scheduled game; if a team does not have those minimums available, it must choose whether or not to play.
Any game not played will initially be considered a postponement. If a game cannot be rescheduled, it would count as a forfeit, resulting in a loss for the team that caused the cancellation and a win for the other team. If neither team is able to play, it would be counted as a tie in the CAA standings.
Elon’s women’s basketball team is also dealing with COVID-19 protocols and had its game against Francis Marion University on Dec. 30 cancelled and its game against William & Mary rescheduled from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4. While the CAA will look to reschedule conference games, the team’s non-conference game against Francis Marion will not not be rescheduled.
The next scheduled game for Elon’s men’s basketball team is Jan. 5 against William & Mary.