By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - It will not be the kind of season Ryan Kero and the rest of his teammates on the Saint John's University hockey team are accustomed to.

But the Johnnies and other athletes across the MIAC learned Wednesday that they will at least get the chance to play this winter.

And that came as welcome news indeed.

"It's not what we're used to, but we'll take what we can get," said Kero, a senior co-captain on the SJU hockey team who had 10 goals and 12 assists, while helping lead the Johnnies to the MIAC regular-season title a year ago.

"It will just be good to be back out there."

The conference announced Wednesday that the MIAC President's Council had voted to approve a plan to permit condensed regular-season competition in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving and men's and women's indoor track and field.

Swimming and diving, indoor track and field and wrestling (which is not a sport sponsored by the MIAC) will be able to participate in regular-season meets at the discretion of each institution, though there will be no assigned conference schedule.

Hockey and basketball will begin a seven-game conference schedule Feb. 6 following a single, round-robin format in which each participating school (Carleton, Macalester, St. Catherine and St. Olaf have all opted out) will play every other team once.

There will be no conference tournaments, but the team achieving the best winning percentage, while completing at least 51 percent of its schedule, will earn the MIAC regular-season championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

Teams also have the opportunity to schedule up to four non-conference games (which can be against conference opponents) beginning on Jan. 29. Play would run through March 13, meaning the season will last roughly six weeks.

"Our goal is always to win the MIAC, and to do that this year means you can't afford too many losses," Kero said. "Maybe not any. So we're looking at it as really like a six-week playoff."

All MIAC programs will follow the safety guidelines recommended by the NCAA Medical Advisory Board and the Minnesota Department of Health when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

The complete MIAC COVID-19 Competition Plan - which includes specific details regarding resocialization, conference protocols and competition expectations – can be viewed here.

An NCAA Division III blanket waiver issued last October means student-athletes are able to participate in athletics during this academic year without being charged a season of participation or semesters of eligibility.

"It's exciting for our players, especially our senior class," SJU hockey coach Doug Schueller said. "It's great that we'll have the opportunity to get back on the ice.

"But it's certainly a much-tighter window than we're used to. There have been plenty of stretches during seasons in the past where we've gone 4-1, or 1-4. But this year, you have to get off to a strong start because you won't have the luxury of more games to get back on track."

SJU basketball coach Pat McKenzie '04, whose team shared the MIAC regular-season title and won the conference's postseason championship a year ago, said much the same thing.

"It's nice to have for the time being a little clarity," he said. "We've all been wondering what was going to happen. So it's good to actually have a schedule in place.

"I think we're all trying to figure out what it's going to be like. Our approach has always been to focus on the next game in front of us. And that part won't change. But unlike past years, certainly, one or two losses could really be devastating because it is such a condensed format. We'll have to be ready to go right away.

"In a way, it feels like October and February all rolled into one. There is still a lot of juice for the journey. It's just that the journey will look a little different than it has in the past."