MAC Conference Won’t Add Eastern Michigan Softball to 2019 Schedule
Eastern Michigan softball will have to wait at least another month to learn if they will be back to playing at Eastern Michigan University.
According to the Detroit Free Press’s, David Jesse, the Mid-American Conference said it won’t add the removed sports back into conference schedules this year.
Schedules are done in advance and it would be difficult to redo them this late in the process especially as many programs have secured travel arrangements.
A federal judge ordered Eastern Michigan to reinstate the softball and tennis programs it cut last year as part of a budget-saving plan on September 28. Female student-athletes sued Eastern Michigan and a federal judge ruled the university violated federal Title IX law in cutting the sports.
The two sides met with the judge Tuesday afternoon in federal court in Detroit.
“Unfortunately the MAC has stated it is refusing to put women’s tennis and softball back on the conference schedule this season,” attorney Jill Zwagerman told the Free Press after Tuesday’s court session. “This is concerning and disheartening to the plaintiffs, and something we consider to be an unnecessary barrier.”
Eastern Michigan University issued a statement through spokesman Geoff Larcom that said the two sides had a productive meeting and looked forward to working together before the next court status conference on Nov. 27.
A spokesman for the MAC couldn’t be reached Tuesday according to the Detroit Free Press.
More than likely, the odds of Eastern Michigan Softball returning to the field in time for 2019 season seems like a long shot. Fall of 2019 and 2020 season may be a more realistic goal for all parties to agree on. We will wait and see what happens when they meet again next month.
