Attacks postpone athletic events
Noah Amstadter
Sports Editor
Following a Big East Conference announcement to postpone all league competition through Sunday, five Notre Dame teams have either cancelled or postponed events scheduled for this weekend.
Big East conference commissioner Michael Tranghese suspended all Big East competition after consulting with the league's athletic directors and Executive Committee.
"The overwhelming feeling throughout our institutions is that we must move on with our lives and terrorist actions will not stop us from doing that," Tranghese said. "But the suspension of league competition through the weekend allows us an appropriate period of reflection and mourning."
The conference left decisions regarding non-conference competition to the discretion of each school.
All of Notre Dame's scheduled events were against non-conference teams.
"We believe the horrific developments Tuesday warrant a national period of bereavement and a moratorium as far as athletics are concerned," Irish athletic director Kevin White said in a statement. "Consistent with the Big East decision not to compete in any sports, we have postponed all athletic events through the weekend."
The only campus event postponed was the Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament, to be hosted by the Irish men's soccer team on Alumni Field Friday and Sunday. St. Mary's (Calif.), Akron and Rhode Island were all scheduled to visit Notre Dame for the tournament, which was to honor former Irish men's soccer coach Berticelli, who passed away suddenly from a heart attack in February, 2000. It is unlikely that the games will be made up.
"We talked to the Berticelli family [Wednes-day] and we're going to honor Mike," assistant men's soccer coach Mike Avery said. "We're going to do that tentatively scheduled for the Oct. 5 game against Georgetown."
Avery also expressed some concern about the 10-day gap between Notre Dame's last game last Sunday and their next contest Wednesday against Cleveland State.
"Obviously we'd love to be playing, but we're also very, very mindful of the tragedy that's gone on," Avery said. "The decision that the athletic department made to postpone all the contests is a good one."
The Irish women's volleyball squad, whose home game against Michigan on Wednesday night was cancelled on Tuesday, was scheduled to compete at the Mortar Board Purdue Premier in West Lafayette this weekend. Purdue suspended the four-team tournament which was to include Purdue, Notre Dame, Tulane and Indiana State.
"Every effort will be made to reschedule our events, but we feel strongly that we should treat all sports the same and suspend events scheduled for this weekend," Morgan Burke, Purdue's director of intercollegiate athletics said in a statement.
The Irish golf teams will not be competing in their scheduled season debuts this weekend. Women's golf was to take part in the Mary Fossum Michigan State Invitational. The men were to travel to Iowa City for the Northern Collegiate Tournament.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, September 13, 2001
