In the wake of the terrorist attacks that occurred September 11, Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson decided Friday to cancel all weekend varsity athletic events.
Efforts to reschedule those matches were well underway by Tuesday afternoon, with several make-up games already on the calendar, according to Kerry Quinn, associate athletic director.
Quinn said that Joe King, head coach of the football team, was attempting to reschedule the Shotglass Trophy Game against Coast Guard for October 6, the team’s only free weekend before the start of the postseason.
The women’s soccer team’s home game versus Hamilton will now be on Thursday at 7 pm. Men’s soccer will travel to Hamilton on Saturday, and their game at Hobart has been moved to October 16.
Quinn pointed out that rescheduling games requires the agreement of both schools involved. "What happened last week affects not just our players ... but also the competition."
Rensselaer’s players and coaches were supportive of Jackson’s decision. Aldo Nardiello, head coach of the women’s and men’s soccer teams, said that his players were appreciative of the opportunity to take some time off and think.
"(At) times like these, you really begin to understand the proper place of athletics ... in life," he said.
Athletic cancellations were not just limited to RPI, as other schools and professional leagues alike postponed or called off their sporting events as well.
Major league baseball postponed all of its games last week, resuming play on Monday. Those games will be played during the week of October 1, causing a one-week delay in the start of the postseason.
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced Tuesday that its cancelled games would be rescheduled for the week of January 6, which was the planned date of the first round of playoff matches. The league is attempting to rearrange its schedule to allow for a full slate of playoff games.
Golf’s Ryder Cup has been pushed back an entire year. NASCAR postponed the New Hampshire 300 by two months, to November 23.
Locally, the University at Albany and Siena College both cancelled all of their matches, but Union College elected to play through the weekend.
For Rensselaer, varsity sports were back in action Tuesday as the women’s soccer team travelled to NYU. This game was almost postponed as well, due to the opponents’ proximity to the World Trade Center, but John Clement, athletic director at NYU, told Nardiello that the players wanted to get on with things and were looking forward to the match. Results of the competition were not available at the time of publication.
