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LANCASTER, PA -- The Franklin & Marshall Athletic Department has announced that the women's volleyball team will not travel to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend for the Emory University Tournament due to concerns of possible further terrorist attacks against the United States.
"Out of concern for the safety of F&M athletes, we believe it to be prudent to keep our team out of harms way and avoid the possibility of another tragedy," said F&M athletic director Robert Bunnell.
Originally, the team was to have flown to Atlanta today. However, with the horrific hijacking of airliners from Boston and Newark International Airports, the team and institution elected to forgo air travel and examine opportunities closer to Lancaster. Alternative modes of transportation to Atlanta where considered, including a bus trip to Emory, but where eliminated due to the possibility of further violence on the East Coast. "Atlanta is a major communications center for the United States, and would be a likely target for further follow-up aggression against our country. As a department head, and as a parent, I feel it is unwise to place any of our student-athletes in a situation where they could experience severe bodily harm or worse." This morning, Emory announced that the tournament had been cancelled due to multiple teams withdrawing their commitments to the event for safety reasons. The trip cancellation is the first of its kind in the history of volleyball at Franklin & Marshall College. Previously, the College has cancelled only one other known athletic event due to a national calamity, a football game versus Ursinus College in 1963 following the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The College's actions fall inline with the recommendations of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which issued a statement last night. "Decisions about playing regular-season games always have rested with our members. We support the decisions our member schools and conferences make about playing their games in the next few days," said Cedric Dempsey, NCAA president. "We believe that college administrators are in the best position to make these decisions after considering input from their constituencies. It's our role to provide guidance, not mandates." The Executive Committee also said it would direct NCAA committees to make appropriate accommodations such as extending playing seasons, altering schedules and adjusting criteria for championship selection for institutions that choose not to play in the next several days and cannot reschedule games. "The White House has conveyed to the NCAA that it is encouraging a return to normalcy across the country," said Robert Lawless, chair of the Executive Committee and president of the University of Tulsa. "We want to assist in showing the resiliency of the American spirit." At this time, Franklin & Marshall College is currently seeking opponents and tournament opportunites for this weekend. However, due to several Division I, II and III conferences' moratoriums on competition, options have been minimal. "Scranton is holding a tournament this weekend, but the field is already filled," stated head coach Nicole Goscilo. "We were offered an opportunity to play in the George Washington University Tournament, but they cancelled their event this morning due to the university's location in Washington D.C." If F&M is unable to find an opponent for this weekend, the Diplomats will continue the season at 7:00 p.m. on September 19 at home versus Dickinson College in the Centennial Conference season-opener.
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