Furman advanced to the FBS playoffs for the second time in three years last season. Schools were given the option to play non-conference games in the fall, but Furman elected not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe felt like we could have competed this fall, but at the same time we respected the (SoCon) decision and understood how this was an unprecedented time,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201c(Football Coach) Clay Hendrix said, \u2018I just want to compete whenever our playoffs are. I want to compete in that season.\u2019 That’s the same for our soccer teams and our volleyball team.\u201d<\/p>\n
In September, the NCAA announced all 2020 fall championships would be moved to the spring of 2021. Cross-country is scheduled for March 15, followed by volleyball April 23-25, football April 24-May 15 and men\u2019s and women\u2019s soccer May 13-17.<\/p>\n
The Paladin volleyball team will play 16 league matches beginning Feb. 4<\/a>. The women\u2019s soccer team opens defense of its 2019 regular-season conference title on March 5<\/a>, while the men\u2019s team, also hoping to defend its 2019 SoCon championship, begins play on March 13<\/a>.<\/p>\n The men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams will start conference play on Dec. 30<\/a> and Jan. 9<\/a>, respectively, with the men playing 18 SoCon games and the women 14. Non-conference play will begin Nov. 25, with opponents and times to be announced once they’re finalized.<\/p>\n The other teams are also pursuing non-conference opponents and will announce those opponents and dates once they have been finalized as well.<\/p>\n Furman cross-country\u2019s first and only race before the NCAA regional meets will be the SoCon men’s and women’s championships on Nov. 21 in Macon, Georgia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Donnelly says there\u2019s a big silver lining to be found in the delayed season: Less competition for the attention of fans normally bombarded with more games than they can possibly watch.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the spring is a great opportunity for exposure on a stage where we’re kind of starved for sports and everyone’s looking to see their teams play,\u201d he said. \u201cI know it may sound cliche, but all of our teams just wanted the opportunity to compete this year, and our goal was to give everyone that chance \u2026 We\u2019ve demonstrated that we\u2019ve been able to be on campus and be safe and take this step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
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