Hockey East Intends To Play 2020-21 Season

BOSTON (CBS) -- Professional sports are returning amid the coronavirus pandemic to mixed degrees of success. While things appear to be going well in the NBA and NHL in their bubble settings, MLB is not enjoying the same level of success, and the future remains uncertain for the NFL.

The future is even cloudier for college sports, especially those that take place in the fall. But Hockey East announced Wednesday that it intends to hold the 2020-21 season, and will do so by prioritizing the competition between league members.

"By emphasizing competition between Hockey East member institutions, the league allows itself to make significant and often difficult decisions in real time that will protect the health and safety of all parties involved in the administration of the conference schedule," the conference announced Wednesday. "Further, Hockey East's geography allows the league to conduct conference competition, including the men's and women's championships, while mitigating non-essential travel and allowing maximum flexibility to adjust its schedule based on ever-changing developments and best medical practices surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Specifically, the league plans to construct multiple balanced schedule models for both the men's and women's leagues for the 2020-21 season," the announcement continued. "These models will include added safety measures and allow for maximum scheduling flexibility."

This is all good news for Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, UMass and UMass Lowell, not to mention the out-of-state schools in Hockey East, including UNH, Maine and UConn, among others.

Things, of course, could change, and Hockey East understands this. Details regarding the new schedules, including a new start date and specifics of regular-season competition, will be released at a later date.