Photo by: Spiders Athletics
CAA Football Announces Spring 2021 Conference Schedule
10/27/2020 | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – Colonial Athletic Association Football announced its conference schedule for the 2021 Spring season, which includes a six-game slate for each institution using a unique divisional format. The CAA postponed the 2020 fall season due to continuing concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Spiders will be one of four teams in the South Division this spring, joining the likes of Elon, James Madison and William & Mary. Teams in the South will meet twice, with each team getting a home and an away game. The North Division will include seven teams - UAlbany, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Stony Brook and Villanova. The teams in the North Division will face each other once (three home, three away). Towson announced on October 19 that it would not compete during the 2021 Spring season.
Richmond opens the CAA schedule Saturday, March 6 at Robins Stadium against rival William & Mary. The Spiders will welcome Elon to Robins Stadium the following week March 13. Back-to-back road games at James Madison (March 20) and Elon (March 27) round out the month of March for the spring season.
The Spiders close out the home portion of the schedule with their second game against James Madison, this one at Robins Stadium April 3. One normal part of the Spring 2021 schedule will see the Spiders close out the CAA schedule against rival William & Mary April 10 in Williamsburg. The Spiders and Tribe have met in the final game of the regular season every year since 2001, a string of 18-straight seasons. The two programs have only not met in the last regular season games four times since 1954.
Ticket information for the spring 2021 season will be released closer to the start of the season as we continue to monitor COVID-19.
The team with the best overall conference record will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship. Should the divisional champions finish with the same conference record, a tie-breaking procedure will be used to determine the automatic qualifier.
"We are pleased to announce the conference schedule for the 2021 Spring football season, but understand this is just the next step in the planning process associated with playing football on each of our campuses," CAA Commissioner Joe D'Antonio said. "Our unique divisional format was developed with the goal of enhancing safety and reducing the risks associated with travel during this difficult period of time, while still providing a fair and competitive model to determine a champion. Today's announcement hopefully provides an additional level of excitement for the student-athletes and coaches who have worked hard and made numerous sacrifices over the past eight months. As always, health and safety remain at the forefront of all return-to-play decisions that we as a Conference continue to make."
Conference play would begin on Saturday, March 6 and conclude on Saturday, April 17. Each team would have a bye week in the schedule, which could provide flexibility to make up games postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic if necessary.
Each institution has the option of adding up to two additional non-conference games to their schedule. Institutions are able to schedule "non-conference" games against other conference members, but those games would not count towards the conference standings and the outcome would not be used in the tiebreaking procedures. Based on NCAA guidelines, teams are allowed to begin non-conference competition as early as January 23.
The NCAA Football Championship will feature 16 teams with 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large berths. The playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, April 24 with a champion being crowned in Frisco, Texas on May 14, 15 or 16.
2021 Spring CAA Schedule
March 6 - vs. WILLIAM & MARY (Robins Stadium)
March 13 - vs. ELON (Robins Stadium)
March 20 - at James Madison (Harrisonburg, Va.)
March 27 - at Elon (Elon, N.C.)
April 3 - vs. JAMES MADISON (Robins Stadium)
April 10 - at William & Mary (Williamsburg, Va.)
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The Spiders will be one of four teams in the South Division this spring, joining the likes of Elon, James Madison and William & Mary. Teams in the South will meet twice, with each team getting a home and an away game. The North Division will include seven teams - UAlbany, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Stony Brook and Villanova. The teams in the North Division will face each other once (three home, three away). Towson announced on October 19 that it would not compete during the 2021 Spring season.
Richmond opens the CAA schedule Saturday, March 6 at Robins Stadium against rival William & Mary. The Spiders will welcome Elon to Robins Stadium the following week March 13. Back-to-back road games at James Madison (March 20) and Elon (March 27) round out the month of March for the spring season.
The Spiders close out the home portion of the schedule with their second game against James Madison, this one at Robins Stadium April 3. One normal part of the Spring 2021 schedule will see the Spiders close out the CAA schedule against rival William & Mary April 10 in Williamsburg. The Spiders and Tribe have met in the final game of the regular season every year since 2001, a string of 18-straight seasons. The two programs have only not met in the last regular season games four times since 1954.
Ticket information for the spring 2021 season will be released closer to the start of the season as we continue to monitor COVID-19.
The team with the best overall conference record will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship. Should the divisional champions finish with the same conference record, a tie-breaking procedure will be used to determine the automatic qualifier.
"We are pleased to announce the conference schedule for the 2021 Spring football season, but understand this is just the next step in the planning process associated with playing football on each of our campuses," CAA Commissioner Joe D'Antonio said. "Our unique divisional format was developed with the goal of enhancing safety and reducing the risks associated with travel during this difficult period of time, while still providing a fair and competitive model to determine a champion. Today's announcement hopefully provides an additional level of excitement for the student-athletes and coaches who have worked hard and made numerous sacrifices over the past eight months. As always, health and safety remain at the forefront of all return-to-play decisions that we as a Conference continue to make."
Conference play would begin on Saturday, March 6 and conclude on Saturday, April 17. Each team would have a bye week in the schedule, which could provide flexibility to make up games postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic if necessary.
Each institution has the option of adding up to two additional non-conference games to their schedule. Institutions are able to schedule "non-conference" games against other conference members, but those games would not count towards the conference standings and the outcome would not be used in the tiebreaking procedures. Based on NCAA guidelines, teams are allowed to begin non-conference competition as early as January 23.
The NCAA Football Championship will feature 16 teams with 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large berths. The playoffs are set to begin on Saturday, April 24 with a champion being crowned in Frisco, Texas on May 14, 15 or 16.
2021 Spring CAA Schedule
March 6 - vs. WILLIAM & MARY (Robins Stadium)
March 13 - vs. ELON (Robins Stadium)
March 20 - at James Madison (Harrisonburg, Va.)
March 27 - at Elon (Elon, N.C.)
April 3 - vs. JAMES MADISON (Robins Stadium)
April 10 - at William & Mary (Williamsburg, Va.)
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