The Colonial Athletic Association will provide every team in every sport the opportunity to participate in their respective conference tournaments during the 2020‐21 season as the league announced its championships schedule on Tuesday.

With many regular‐season schedules curtailed due to safety and cost concerns related to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the conference’s athletic administrators felt it was important to give all student‐athletes the experience of competing for a CAA championship with the chance to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“I commend the conference’s athletic administrators and conference staff for their forward thinking and open‐mindedness as we continue to navigate through a period of great unknown associated with the 2020‐21 academic year,” said CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio. “This championship model directly coincides with the Extreme Flexibility Model (EFM) that the conference established for 2020‐21 regular season competitions, and provides each student‐athlete with an opportunity to work toward the goal of being a CAA Champion.”

Student‐athlete health and safety, limiting travel and missed class time and controlling costs played a major factor in determining the championships schedule. The conference will divide its tournaments in men’s and women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse into regional brackets for the first round and quarterfinals before moving to a more central geographic location for the semifinals and championship game. Men’s lacrosse will conduct two quarterfinal games hosted by the higher seeds, with the winners advancing to a central site for the semifinals and title game.

In the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, volleyball, men’s and women’s swimming & diving, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track & field, softball and baseball, the entire championship will be held at one location.

A committee of athletics administrators and conference staff will determine seeds for the championships using a variety of metrics, including a postseason poll of the conference’s head coaches. In the event that all teams play a true conference schedule, conference standings will determine the seeds.

All championship dates and schedules are subject to change due to the fluid nature of events surrounding the COVID‐19 pandemic. All decisions will be made in accordance with federal, state and local health guidelines, as well as in consultation with policies put in place on each individual campus.

Complete brackets for the tournaments can be found under the championships tab on the league’s website www.caasports.com. The entire 2020‐21 championships schedule is included with this release and can also be found under the championships tab.

2020‐21 Championships Schedule

(As of June 23, 2020)